


Avatar: Legacy of the Past - Book 4: Chaos

by Lightning189



Series: Avatar: Legacy of the Past [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Airbending & Airbenders, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Chaos, Earth Kingdom (Avatar), Earthbending & Earthbenders, F/F, F/M, Fire Nation (Avatar), Firebending & Firebenders, Kyoshi Island, Lightbending & Lightbenders, Northern Water Tribe, Order, Republic City, Shadowbending & Shadowbenders, Southern Water Tribe, Spirit World (Avatar), Waterbending & Waterbenders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightning189/pseuds/Lightning189
Summary: Chaos cloaks the world, and the only hope is the rag-tag team of benders and non-benders.Kang strides through the Earth Kingdom, discovering a secret clan with the help of his friend.The Avatar makes her way through the Spirit World, attempting to contact her past lives directly, and retrieve the First Avatar Relic.Danger will plague the heroes in this final chapter, but will they be victorious? Or will the Chaos consume and destroy them all? (Book 4/4)
Series: Avatar: Legacy of the Past [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044300
Collections: Avatar: The Last Airbender





	1. The End Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prepared to face the False Avatar, the Governors enter the Heart of Chaos

Khana and Lin flew in the Aircraft Kang had built for them, soaring through the chaotic skies of The United Republic.

"Are you sure you know where the evacuees would've gone?" Khana asked, keeping her eyes on the sky whilst Lin pulled out a map.

"There are several designated Evacuation points around Republic City, we need to go to all of them and inform the citizens what's going on," Lin explained, pointing to several sports on a map as Khana nodded, flying towards the closest location whilst a silence loomed over them.

"Do you think we'll win?" Lin asked, her voice riddled with worry, but Khana remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know Lin... Kang and Claire are still missing and..." Khana replied, choking on her words as Lin patted the Kyoshi Warrior's shoulder, looking back to The Heart of Chaos as the two continued their journey.

Back in Republic City, The Governors, Ty Lee, Sky, Zu and Li stood before The Heart of Chaos, its gigantic crystalline structure looming over them with a daunting aura.

"Remember, if you're on the verge of losing, don't be afraid to flee, better to live and fight another day than die," Sky told the governors.

"Don't worry, Sky. We'll save our city!" Gao proudly proclaimed as he led the march into the Heart of Chaos with the other three governors shortly following behind.

"Hou, you're arguably the strongest of us... what do you think our chances are?" Jing asked, curious to know his thoughts.

"Well... I've never fought an Avatar before, so I'm afraid I can't say," Hou uneasily replied as Jing shrugged, lightly chuckling at his reply.

"Maybe we should've let The Avatar into the Tournament," Jing jested.

The four stood before the archway, each letting out a heavy sigh as they stood under its Crystal structure.

"Once we go in, there's no turning back. We face this Avatar Thief together!" Gao told his fellow governors.

"Oh, we're gonna die!" Sheng muttered to himself, causing Hou to smack him upside the head.

"With an attitude like that, you will!" Hou retorted as Sheng pouted, shortly followed by Gao groaning, but Jing strode up to the fire-bending governor, proudly standing beside him.

"We're the Governors of this city, whether we live or die, at least we tried making a difference!" Jing proclaimed, briefly looking at himself with surprise.

"Wow... where did that come from, Jing?" Hou quizzically asked.

"I'm... not sure," Jing replied, unsure of himself whilst the governors all looked to one another, shrugging before entering The Heart of Chaos.

Khana and Lin landed outside the Yu Dao city of the United Republic, multiple evacuees flocking to their presence as they hopped out of the Aircraft, shortly followed by the Yu Dao mayor approaching and formally bowing to them.

"Police Chief Beifong! I was hoping you or a Governor would arrive soon," The mayor urgently greeted them.

"Sorry for the delay, we had a confrontation with the man who caused this and we needed time to recover," Lin explained as the surrounding crowd murmured.

"Are we safe?", "A man did this?", "Will Republic City be okay!?", "What's going on??" The people of the crowd wailed whilst the Mayor looked around at them before turning back to Lin and Khana.

"A man? Surely this is the work of a violent or vengeful Spirit!" The Mayor protested, the crowd murmuring in agreement.

"Well... we're both half right. The man who caused this stole a piece of the Avatar Spirit. And used it to cause this," Lin explained, gesturing to the skies above as the chaos rumbled, making the crowd and Mayor gasp in horror.

"Is the Avatar alive!?" The Mayor demanded to know, but Lin just let out a heavy sigh.

"We don't know," Lin replied, her tone bringing despair to the crowd as the Mayor tapped his foot on the ground, trying to take in the situation.

"What about the evacuees? The United Republic can only handle a city-wide evacuation for so long, Chief Beifong!" The Mayor told her, but before Lin could form a reply, a sleazy-looking man approached the three, with a Police officer and a person in blue and white robes behind him.

"Don't worry, Chief, we've got it all under control," The sleazy man told them, throwing off Lin, Khana and the mayor.

"Ferret... what are you talking about?" Lin asked the sleazy man.

"My boys, your boys and these... what were you again?" Ferret began explaining before turning to the white and blue-robed person.

"The Order of The White Lotus," The White Lotus member told him as Ferret affirmatively nodded.

"Yeah, jeez what a mouthful," Ferret mumbled as he turned back to Lin.

"Anyway, my boys, your boys and these White Lotus guys are helping the common folk as best we can," Ferret replied as Lin raised a sceptical eyebrow to him.

"Why would you of all people do that?" Lin asked as she crossed her arms.

"Hey, we're all evacuees' here! No point in fighting each other when we're all up the creek without a paddle," Ferret replied as Lin pressed her foot into the ground, determining that Ferret spoke the truth, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, thank you, Ferret. Just don't go stepping out of line," Lin firmly told him, to which Ferret lightly scoffed.

"Don't you worry, Lin-o, if anyone steps out of line, I'll just beat 'em back into it!" Ferret reassured her as Lin grimaced at the name 'Lin-o' before turning her attention back to The Mayor.

"Every thing's going to be alright, Khana and I best go inform the other Evacuee settlements," Lin replied as she and Khana returned to the Aircraft, both hopping into their seats as the aircraft took off into the skies.

The Governors marched across the bridge into the peculiarly illuminated interior as Talos awoke atop his throne, gazing down at the Governors and letting out a disgusted grunt at their presence.

"You are not Claire, begone!" Talos told them, flexing out his hand and unleashing a howling gale, but Hou erected an enormous wall before the howling gale, blocking its merciless breeze, the earth governor dropping his wall as the gale ceased, raising his fists as the other governors glared at Talos.

"Gonna take more than that to get rid of us!" Hou taunted, determinedly hopping on the spot as Talos scoffed, rising from his throne.

"Evidently," Talos replied, stretching his arms and cracking his neck as he stepped down from his throne.

"You think you can stand up to me? When I have the Chaotic powers of Raava pulsing through my veins!?" Talos proudly proclaimed as he held his fist to them.

"An ego will only get you so far, Avatar thief!" Sheng replied, drawing water onto his arms.

"Same goes for sub-par bending!" Talos taunted them as he dashed in with unprecedented speed, paralysing the governors with shock as the Avatar's blade arched down upon them, but with a swift parry, Jing deflected his attack, lunging in as Gao and Sheng back him up with streams of fire and water whilst Hou launched slabs of obsidian towards Talos.

Jing deftly avoided the oncoming slabs with every slash, but Talos effortlessly avoided their attacks, his power seemingly untouchable to them, and as Jing's guard broke, Talos struck out with a mighty kick, smacking Jing across the bridge and cracking his ribs.

"Mere benders and warriors cannot stand up to the might of the Avatar!" Talos taunted them as Hou picked Jing up off the ground, checking him over before glaring back at Talos.

Hou shook the foundations of The Heart of Chaos with a mighty slam of his heel, much to Talos' surprise, knocking him off balance as Gao rushed in, leaping into the air and smashing his fist onto the ground, unleashing an indomitable wave of fire, but Talos countered with a blazing violet wall, stunning the governors as the Avatar bent it around himself, unleashing an unstoppable wave of violet flames.

Hou raised a wall between the Governors and the flames, but his wall crumbled to dust, the flames scorching the skin of the governors before it crashed along the walls of The Heart of Chaos. Sheng willed himself back up, bending up water from by the bridge and dowsing his fellow Governors in it to try stopping the burning.

The Governors stood back to their feet, ignoring their wounds as they restarted the fight. Gao first dove in, unleashing quick jabs and waves of fire, but they meant nothing to Talos as he dodged them with ease, and as the fire governor unleashed a low wave of flame along the ground, Talos leapt over it, swinging his leg forward and striking Gao's face, the sheer force of the kick shattering his nose and knocking him unconscious.

"Gao!" Sheng shouted as Talos grappled Gao's unconscious body by the collar of his shirt, presenting him before his governors.

"I suggest the rest of you out your tails between your legs and flee!" Talos taunted them. But the Governors persisted, all charging in with vengeful might whilst Talos shook his head, tossing Gao aside and meeting their charge.

Talos focused on Sheng, mercilessly striking his abdomen with his fist, bending water to his blade as Hou embedded the Avatar's feet in obsidian, but Talos leapt away, cracking the obsidian and swinging his blade towards Sheng, striking his feet and freezing him on the spot, and as the water froze, Talos weightlessly spun himself around in the air, launching back in towards Sheng and swinging his leg to the side of the water governor's head, smashing into his temple and breaking the ice beneath him, smacking Sheng across the room over to Gao, unconscious with his friend.

"This is going even worse than last time!" Hou shouted as he faced Talos, taking a deep breath.

" _Fight like mother... brute force won't win this,"_ Hou thought to himself as he and Jing circled around with Talos.

Jing leapt in first, mercilessly slashing at Talos as the Avatar parried the governor's attacks, attempting to make a counter-attack, but Hou blocked his blows with stalagmites of obsidian, throwing Talos off guard as Jing swung for his face, slashing across Talos' nose and stunning him as he jerked back, lightly grasping the bridge of his nose, seeing blood trickle down his fingers.

"Good hit," Talos complimented him, throwing Jing's guard off as the Avatar viciously dashed in, but Hou shifted the ground beneath Talos, causing his attack to miss and leave him wide open for Jing to attack.

Jing slashed into Talos' abdomen, causing him to jerk back as he gripped his side, growling at the two Governors, but Talos bared the pain, lunging back in with his blade poised to strike, but Jing caught the blade in the fabric of his fan, closing it and trapping the blade in his grasp, twisting Talos into a submissive position as Hou kicked up another stalagmite of obsidian towards Talos' face, striking him and breaking the Avatar free of Jing's grasped, rolling onto the floor and grunting in pain as he looked towards the two Governors.

"Had enough?" Jing confidently taunted as Talos smiled, dashing into the governor, taking advantage of his overconfidence, to Jing time seemingly stop as Talos approached him, the governor's heart skipping a beat, Talos delivered a mighty uppercut to Jing's jaw, shattering his jaw as he flew into the air, spiralling around before landing on the ground, laying unconscious whilst Hou grimaced at him.

"You just had to get overconfident..." Hou muttered, shaking his head as Talos stood before him, dropping his guard before Hou.

"Fleeing is still an option for you... Hou Beifong, was it?" Talos asked him, raising his arms in a taunting manner whilst Hou remained silent, raising his fists to Talos and determinedly glaring at him.

"I see bull-headedness runs in the family," Talos snarled, leaping in with his blade poised to strike, but Hou dodged to the side as the Avatar came close, remaining rooted on the spot and surprising Talos as he swung his blade once more, but Hou shifted the ground beneath him, circling around and kicking the obsidian up towards Talos, blasting him forward and knocking him off balance.

Hou swept Talos of his feet before launching up a great number of stalagmites, but to Hou's surprise, Talos weightlessly drifted away from the attack, spinning up and around in the air before landing gracefully on his feet, turning to Hou with a menacing smirk.

Talos let loose a mighty slash of air, but Hou ducked under it as Talos unleashed a powerful slice of fire, however, Hou pulled the earth up beneath him, the fire crashing against the obsidian podium before Talos released an upper slash of water at Hou, as the earth governor shifted the ground beneath him, sliding to the side before launching at a chunk of obsidian up at Talos, but with an angered smashed of the Avatar's fist, the chunk of obsidian crumbled to dust.

"Enough games!" Talos shouted, his temper breaking as his eyes glowed with a black light, catching Hou off guard as Talos launched himself at the earth governor, striking his gut before launching him into the air on a pillar of earth, following him up before ripping and punching Hou with merciless ferocity, finishing with a downward kick, sending Hou crashing into the ground, the earth governor's gaze blurring before passing out as Talos descended to the ground, taking a deep breath as he descended from The Avatar State.

"Who would've thought... a mere Earth-bender forcing me into the Avatar State..." Talos lamented on the battle, waltzing back over to his throne, standing before it as he swirled his hand around, bending the air to drag the governors into one spot.

"I must admit, you four fought with courage... but Courage will only get you so far," Talos told their unconscious bodies, the air swirling around the governors as they floated in the air.

"Now... BEGONE!" Talos shouted, unleashing a howling gale at the unconscious Governors, blowing them away from Talos' presence.

The unconscious governors flew towards Zu, Li, Sky and Ty Lee. Zu's eyes widened as he shot himself up to their level, quickly grabbing hold of all four governors before slamming back down with a mighty thud.

"Balls..." Sky muttered as he, Li and Ty Lee approached Zu. The Giant turned around to face them, laying the governors down on the ground.

"They're hurt pretty bad... Li, get on it!" Zu told him. Li wasted no time to start healing as the Aircraft flown by Khana and Lin descended onto the ground, seeing the Governors with their own eyes.

"Hou!" Lin shouted, leaping from the Aircraft and sprinting over to the Governors, looking at them in horror.

"If this is what Talos did to the Governors... we're in for the fight of our lives," Sky told them, grimacing at The Heart of Chaos.


	2. The Edge of Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remaining within the Spirit World, Claire seeks out the First Avatar's fabled weapon

Claire stood within the confines of The Nexus, gazing out into the endless void through the vine coverings.

"We should get moving, who knows what Talos and Raava are up to!" Vaatu told Claire, breaking her away from daydreaming as she gazed to the surrounding spirit portals.

"Which one will take me to Avatar Kaishi's tomb?" Claire shakily asked, her eyes darting around as the tiny Vaatu appeared on her shoulder, looking around at the Spirit Portals.

"That one, over there!" Vaatu informed her as he pointed to a Spirit Portal showing a large stone tomb. Claire marched towards it, taking a deep breath before stepping in, letting the light engulf her, transporting her to the tomb of Avatar Kaishi, a strong and tall stone temple surrounded by a dark dreary atmosphere, dead plant life and trees scattered amongst the landscape whilst Spirit birds cawed in the distance. A pit grew in Claire's stomach as she gazed at it, slowly approaching the entrance.

"Are there any traps I should know about?" Claire nervously asked the closer she stood before the tomb.

"No, there shouldn't be. Only an Avatar can enter the tomb," Vaatu explained as Claire began to set foot across the archway, but as she did, two bipedal Bull Spirit statues erupted to life, leaping from their pedestals next to the tomb's archway and slamming down before Claire. Their intimidating physique and long sharp horns making Claire jumped back as they towered over her, crossing their arms and glaring down at Claire.

"Only the Avatar may enter!" A Bull Spirit told her, confusing both Claire and Vaatu.

"I am the Avatar!" Claire protested as she flexed her arms out to her side in a standoffish manner.

"You are simply human, we do not sense Chaos within your soul!" The Bull Spirit replied, gruffing at Claire, but as the Avatar spoke, she unconsciously went into the Avatar State, Vaatu taking full control as her eyes glowed and ascended on an Air spout before the Bull Spirits.

"She is the Avatar!" Vaatu's voice spoke, spooking the Bull Spirits.

"The Spirit of Order!? What is going on?" A Bull Spirit asked as Vaatu glared them down.

"A Spirit-Bender has stolen Raava, and we require Avatar Kaishi's Dao Sword to assist us in bringing her back!" Vaatu told them whilst the Bull Spirits quizzically looked to each other.

"And here I thought Spirit-Bending died with its Creator," One of the Bull Spirit grumbled.

"Unfortunately, Wan Shi Tong kept the scroll regarding the heinous ability," Vaatu told them, each Bull Spirit scoffing.

"For a knowledge Spirit, he sure can be foolish," A Bull Spirit commented as the two leapt back onto their pedestals, crossing their arms as they gazed down to Vaatu.

"We will allow your Avatar to enter, Spirit of Order," The Bull Spirits said in unison before turning back into stone. Vaatu briefly bowed Claire's head as she descended from the Avatar State, landing back on the ground.

"I didn't know you could do that," the bewildered Avatar told him.

"It was similar to the body possession that Kyoshi used on you whilst you were on her island," Vaatu explained as Claire lightly scoffed, standing up straight before taking a deep breath, entering the tomb of Avatar Kaishi.

Li continued healing the wounds of the defeated governors whilst everyone else stood in silence. The Heart of Chaos looming over them with an intimidating aura.

"How long did they even last in there?" Khana muttered as she stared at the Heart of Chaos, sweat creeping all over her.

"Give or take a few minutes..." Sky replied, his nerves tingling all over as Khana turned to the Ex-mercenary, a lump building in her throat.

"Then what chance do we have?" Khana asked him as everyone turned their gaze to Sky whilst Li remained focused on healing.

"With an attitude like that, we stand no chance. But we're all there is to stand up to this guy!" Sky replied, trying to bolster everyone's morale, but they all turned their gaze to the ground as Zu tapped his foot.

"Facing an Avatar... it's not something done easily, perhaps we should acknowledge our dread, and survive while we still can," Zu recommended, but Sky scoffed at him.

"Being afraid won't keep us alive when we're in the middle of... whatever we're in the middle of!" Sky retorted as Khana cleared her throat to catch his attention.

"I think Zu is right... We should just wait for Claire to return," Khana replied as Sky turned to face Khana, letting out a heavy sigh.

"And what if she doesn't come back? What then?" Sky asked, but Khana marched over to him, grasping him by his jacket as she scowled at him.

"Don't you dare say that!" Khana snarled, but Sky stood his ground.

"We need to prepare for the worst, Khana! If Claire doesn't come back-" "SHUT UP!" Khana cut him off as she released her grip and struck his face, making Sky stumble backwards as his nose bled.

"Sky!" Zu called to him as he and Ty Lee trotted over whilst Khana went back in on Sky, but Zu blocked her with his enormous hand.

"Khana, Calm down!" Ty Lee protested as she helped Zu hold back Khana.

Zu pushed her away from Sky whilst Ty Lee held onto her, Khana's breath ragged as she gazed at the bleeding Sky.

"Look, Khana. I know you don't want to hear it. But should the Avatar not return, we're the only ones who can stand against this guy," Zu spoke to Khana in a soft tone.

"Weren't you the one who said we shouldn't fight!?" Khana snapped back as Zu knelt before her.

"I know what I said. That's why I'm staying out of this fight. I've never been much of a fighter. But you've got the Spirit of a warrior, Khana," Zu softly told her as he poked her heart.

"You have the choice to either wait for the Avatar, or to stand and fight in her name, be her will and avenge her," Zu spoke as Khana began settling down, slumping down onto the ground whilst Ty Lee supported her.

"And as for your outburst, we should focus on fighting the enemy, not ourselves," Zu told her as Khana let out a heavy sigh, slowly raising her head to Sky.

"I'm... sorry, Sky," Khana muttered to him, but Sky shrugged with an uncaring look.

"Worse things have hit this chiselled jawline, but save those right hooks for Talos from now on," Sky told her as Khana softly chuckled, her head hanging low.

"Is it fine if I just... go for a walk?" Khana asked whilst everyone looked around to one another before looking back to Khana.

"Don't be too long, or we'll come looking for you," Lin told her as Khana nodded, departing whilst Zu leaned into Ty Lee.

"Hey, keep an eye on her," Zu whispered as Ty Lee nodded, waiting for Khana to get a far enough distance away to trail her.

Claire entered the tomb, striding through the dark halls with a flame in hand, illuminating her way as she stood with her spare fist at the ready.

"You said there were no booby traps in this tomb when you were here, right?" Claire cautiously asked Vaatu as he sat upon her shoulder.

"Correct, and if memory serves, there shouldn't be any here, either," Vaatu replied as he scanned around the room whilst Claire marched on, keeping up her guard until she found a wide-open room, seeing a Dao sword jammed into a stone in front of a sarcophagus.

"There it is! Avatar Kaishi's Dao Sword!" Vaatu spoke aloud as an uncontrollable grin overcame Claire, running over to it and studying the Sword.

"Huh... sword in the stone, pretty sure my Dad used to tell me bedtime stories about swords in stones," Claire fondly said, the Dao Sword reminding her of simpler times.

"I remember those!" Vaatu replied with odd glee whilst Claire quizzically looked to him.

"What? Raava and I have been with you since birth," Vaatu explained as Claire oohed.

Claire approached the Dao Sword, clasping the handle and taking a deep breath, pulling on the sword with all her strength, but despite her efforts, the sword would not move.

"Am I... missing something? Avatar State maybe?" Claire asked as she stumbled away from the sword whilst Vaatu inspected the sword.

"I'm unsure, Avatar Kaishi never revealed to me or Raava how to remove the sword... perhaps it's been in there so long it's, uh... stuck," Vaatu informed her as Claire groaned, glaring at the sword before hunching over.

"So this was a waste of time?" Claire asked, but before Vaatu could reply a beam of energy shot up from the Sarcophagus, smacking against the ceiling of the tomb and spreading out amongst the room, surprising both Vaatu and Claire, and as the beam of energy silenced, they saw a spirit with his back turned to them stood atop the Sarcophagus, a man draped in a dark red partially shredded trench coat with gold lines streaming down the arm. His hair styled into a topknot, and sideburns draping down the side of his face.

As he slowly turned around, the two saw into his Amber eyes. Dark brown knee-high boots, and black baggy pants adorning his lower body, and a black vest covering his chest underneath his coat.

"... Kaishi!" Vaatu exclaimed as the Spirit of Avatar Kaishi faced Claire and Vaatu.

"Vaatu," Kaishi coldly replied as a silence loomed in the air whilst Vaatu and Kaishi stared at one another.

"Trust you to make a grand entrance!" Vaatu told him, to which Kaishi lightly chuckled.

"I haven't had a visitor in over thirty thousand years, I couldn't resist the urge," Kaishi happily replied, whilst Claire bewilderingly looked to the two.

"Hold on a moment, I thought Talos broke my connection with the past Avatar's! How is he here right now!?" Claire sceptically exclaimed.

"Talos severed the Avatar Spirit, and in doing so disrupted your ability to contact the past lives... but you have come to me directly," Kaishi explained.

"But... I thought Vaatu and Raava carried your spirit onto Wan, then so on and onto me?" Claire asked, still not wrapping her head around the situation.

"That was my original wish, but Vaatu and Raava had to make some alterations," Kaishi replied, gesturing to Vaatu to explain better.

"We used to put the spirits of past avatars into a new body when we began the Avatar Cycle. But the Spirit of Death interfered with our cycle with his own, leading to an Avatar similar to your friend Li. So we decided that the past lives would live within the Spirit World rather than in the body of every new Avatar," Vaatu explained as Claire slowly nodded before turning to Kaishi.

"So, uh... this sword... we kinda need to... borrow it," Claire told him, but Kaishi remained silent as he observed Claire.

"Tell me, young avatar. Why should I bestow upon you, The Edge of Balance?" Kaishi bluntly asked as Claire lightly gawked, trying to think of a reason.

"Well, uh... Talos has a sword, and without my own, he'll woefully outmatch me?" Claire unconvincingly replied as Kaishi groaned, shaking his head.

"If that is your reasoning, then you should leave," Kaishi replied as he turned away.

"Avatar Kaishi, Wait!" Claire cried out to him, making Kaishi turn back to her, curiously gazing at the young avatar.

"I... need the Edge of Balance to defeat Talos, because now... he's a threat to my friends and the balance of the world. And if I don't have the power to stop him, then Chaos is going to reign over the world again," Claire tried to persuade him as Kaishi looked to Vaatu.

"She's correct, Kaishi. Even now I can sense the Chaos seeping in from the Mortal World," Vaatu informed him whilst Kaishi returned his gaze to Claire.

"I shall grant you The Edge of Balance," Kaishi told her as Claire pumped her arms, trying to contain her excitement.

"But there are three rules you must follow," Kaishi informed her as he raised his finger to her, Claire's excitement shattering as she gazed at him.

"... Go on," Claire bluntly replied.

"Rule one: You will only use The Edge of Balance in the name of restoring Balance of the Mortal and Spirit Worlds," Kaishi told her as Claire nodded.

"Rule two: You will return The Edge of Balance to its rightful resting place once it fulfils its duty," Kaishi told her once more as Claire nodded again.

"Rule three:... Don't break it," Kaishi told her with a chuckle as Claire smiled and nodded.

Kaishi gestured to The Edge of Balance, a dim light radiating around it as Claire approached the sword, grasping it and taking a deep breath, pulling on the sword, the scraping of the blade radiating around the room as it became unstuck from the stone.

Claire pulled the sword from the stone, tightly grasping the red leather-wrapped handle, gazing upon the dull gold pommel and guard before gazing at her reflection in the shiny white metal sword, her heart racing as it slowly turned into spiritual energy, flowing into Claire's right arm.

"What just happened!?" Claire exclaimed as she saw the sword fade.

"It's become a temporary part of you, for convenience," Kaishi informed her as Claire hesitantly smirked before humbly bowing to Kaishi.

"Thank you, Avatar Kaishi! I won't let you down!" Claire told him as a smile broke over Kaishi's face.

"Best of luck, Young Avatar," Kaishi told her as he turned his back, beginning to dissipate back into Spiritual energy whilst Vaatu watched Kaishi fade away, letting out a melancholy sigh.

"Hey, Vaatu..." Claire broke the silence, turning to the tiny Vaatu on her shoulder.

"Yes?" Vaatu replied.

"If the Avatars are all in the Spirit World... does that mean I can contact _all_ my past lives while I'm here?" Claire curiously asked.

"Yes," Vaatu replied, fading back into Claire as a thought crept into her mind, departing from the tomb as she set out into the Spirit World to find her past lives.


	3. The White Lotus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar's elemental masters arrive at the Heart of Chaos, ready to help in the fight against the False Avatar

**Li had successfully recovered the four Governors, but they remained unconscious, propped up on beds of earth created by Zu, covered in blankets fetched from Zu and Li's house whilst Sky and Lin stood before the Heart of Chaos, gazing up at it with worry.**

"Do you think they're okay?" Lin hesitantly asked as Sky sighed and turned his head to the Police Chief.

"Claire and Kang?... I don't know," Sky replied, the weight of the challenge before them setting in as silence loomed over them, but the two heard the approach of footsteps, vibrations coursing over the ground and over to Lin, sensing a man approaching them, the two twisting around to see Shu had arrived.

"Claire's Fire-bending master? What are you doing here?" Sky asked as Shu stood before them, now adorned in an all-red outfit with loose-fitting pants, maroon and gold boots, and a maroon and gold breastplate.

"I'm here to put The Avatar in her place, the other masters are on their way," Shu informed them as Sky and Lin bewilderingly looked to each other, raising an eyebrow before turning back to Shu.

"... You think it's Claire in there?" Lin asked as she gestured to the Heart of Chaos.

"Who else but an Avatar could cause such havoc?" Shu asked as Sky and Lin lightly winced, but before they could reply, Ho Tun tumbled in, racing up to Shu then slumping over, wheezing as he did.

"Whew, Shu, I got your message!" Ho Tun breathlessly spoke.

"Evidently," Shu replied as he looked down at Ho Tun's slumped posture whilst Lin cleared her throat to grasp their attention.

"It's not Claire in there," Lin told them, shocking both masters, Shu's eyes widening as Ho Tun perked himself up.

"Then who else could it be? A Spirit?" Shu disbelievingly asked.

"It's a man called Talos. You were right about him being an Avatar though," Sky informed them, befuddling Shu and Ho Tun further.

"Wasn't that the name of the kid The Avatar was training with before we took her away?" Ho Tun asked, his breathing becoming stable.

"I believe so... but how is he an Avatar?" Shu replied, struggling to grasp the situation. And as the four conversed, Tenzin and Kya arrived, tapping Shu on the shoulder to grasp his attention.

"Ah! Tenzin, Kya... where's Jinora?" Shu greeted them before quizzically looking around.

"She's with Pema, I wasn't about to bring her to what you called 'Ground Zero' of... whatever this is," Tenzin reassured him.

"I understand, how has Pema been?" Shu uneasily replied as he crossed his arms.

"She's just like everyone else, scared, confused. But with Jinora there, I'm sure she'll help put her mind at ease," Tenzin informed him as Shu smiled and nodded.

"Is it true what you said in your letter? That Claire's the cause of all this?" Kya asked as she approached, but Shu shook his head.

"It would appear I made too quick a judgement call. Claire is not the one behind this," Shu replied, surprising both Tenzin and Kya.

"Well whoever it is, we're going in!" Kya replied, punching her palm with confidence, but as the masters conversed, a thought came to Zu's mind whilst he looked at Tenzin.

"Hey, Junior!" Zu called over, grasping the Air Nomad's attention.

"And here I thought only Toph called me that," Tenzin muttered as he approached Zu.

"Yes, uh... Zu, was it? What do you need?" Tenzin asked as he looked up to Zu.

"Can you do The Spirit World thing?" Zu asked, gesturing with his hands to mimic meditation.

"I can, yes... why?" Tenzin quizzically asked him.

"The Avatar - the proper one - She's lost in The Spirit World, and one of her friends is worried about her. Would you mind going to find her to put her mind at ease?" Zu requested as Tenzin turned to Lin, then back to Zu.

"Where's her friend?" Tenzin asked.

"She went for a walk a while ago, but I'm sure Lin can help you out," Zu replied, nodding to Lin.

"Alright, we'll go find her," Tenzin replied, marching back over to Lin.

"Lin, I could use your help to find the Avatar's friend," Tenzin told her, causing Lin to raise a sceptical eyebrow to him.

"Khana?... Sure, I can help you find her," Lin replied as the two bid everyone farewell before setting out to find Khana.

Khana sat on the edge of City Park, gazing out to the turbulent ocean whilst Ty Lee watched her from afar, hiding behind a bush, but Khana looked over to the bush, lightly scoffing as she did.

"I know you're there, Master Ty Lee," Khana called over to her, making Ty Lee scrunched up her neck.

"Alright, you got me," Ty Lee called back as she perched up from the bush, walking over to Khana and sitting beside her whilst silence loomed over them.

"Are you... alright?" Ty Lee asked, but Khana lowered her head, shaking it as she did.

"Why is it that the people I love always end up being taken from me? First Jia, then Suki left, and now Claire..." Khana muttered, but Ty Lee raised a bewildered eyebrow to her.

"You've still got me! And Suki's only a hop skip and a jump away in the South Pole!" Ty Lee tried to reassure her, but Khana's head remained hung.

"I know that... But..." Khana tried to speak, letting out a disgruntled groan.

Tenzin and Lin continued through City park, the Air nomad nervously gazing up at the chaos whilst the Police chief scanned around for Khana.

"Can you sense the Avatar's friend yet?" Tenzin asked as Lin closed her eyes, feeling around the City park and picking up on Khana's location.

"She's this way... and she has a name, you know," Lin replied, taking a jab at Tenzin.

"I'm not the best at remembering names, Lin," Tenzin told her as they ventured towards Khana's location.

"You remember mine pretty well," Lin replied with a smirk as she raced towards Khana.

"What can I say, our time together was memorable," Tenzin told her as he followed Lin to the location of the Kyoshi Warrior.

Khana felt the approach of Lin and Tenzin, quizzically turning around to see them, shortly followed by Ty Lee.

"Lin? Tenzin? What are you two doing here?" Ty Lee asked as she stood up before them.

"I was told by Zu about The Avatar being lost in the Spirit World... so I came here to help put..." Tenzin replied, curiously looking to Khana.

"Khana," Lin whispered.

"Khana's mind at ease," Tenzin finished his sentence, lightly nudging Lin as a way of saying 'thanks' whilst Khana walked over to Tenzin.

"How are you able to do that?" Khana asked, a dim hope illuminating within her.

"I can traverse into the Spirit World through meditation. And in doing so, I will be able to find The Avatar," Tenzin informed her as a smile broke over Khana's face.

"Can you... take people with you?" Khana asked him.

"Unfortunately, no..." Tenzin replied as a dismal expression came over Khana.

Khana, Ty Lee and Lin cleared a space for Tenzin as he sat down on the ground, assuming a meditative posture and taking a deep breath as his spirit journeyed into the Spirit World.

Claire and Vaatu ventured through the dreary landscape of Spirit World seeing sky-piercing mountains in the distance, intending to find her other past lives, but as she ventured across the darkened terrain, a figure began taking shape in front of her, instinctively summoning the Edge of Balance to her hand.

"Put the sword away, remember the rules," Vaatu lightly scolded her as Claire froze for a moment before dematerialising the sword.

"Yeah... only use it in the name restoring balance..." Claire replied as she stood to face the materialising form, seeing it take the shape of Tenzin.

"Avatar!" Tenzin enthusiastically greeted her.

"Master Tenzin?" Claire replied as she raised an eyebrow to his presence.

"It's good to see Shu's message was incorrect... I had a feeling you wouldn't be able to do what... whoever did this has done," Tenzin informed her as Claire worryingly slanted her gaze.

"What's happened?" Claire asked.

"Chaotic Energy has spread amongst the world, and we're doing everything on our end to bring back order in your stead," Tenzin explained as Claire's posture slumped.

"... Why did you come here if you mind me asking?" Claire asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Your friend, uh... Khana, she's worried about you. So I agreed to search for you in the Spirit World," Tenzin explained as Claire softly smiled.

"Tell Khana, I've just got a few things to tie up in the Spirit World, then I'm coming home," Claire replied in a soft, sombre tone as Tenzin smiled and nodded.

"Good luck, Avatar!" Tenzin replied with a bowed head before fading away before her, reawakening within the mortal world.

"Did you find her!?" Khana asked the second he awakened.

"The Avatar says she just needs to tie up a few things in the Spirit World... then she's coming home," Tenzin relayed Claire's message as an uncontrollable smile overcame the Kyoshi Warrior whilst Tenzin, Lin and Ty Lee gleefully looked to her.

"What do you say we go into that enormous crystal, retake the Avatar Spirit, and deliver it to Claire on a silver platter!" Ty Lee encouraged her as she wrapped her arm around Khana's shoulder whilst Khana nodded, looking at the Heart of Chaos.

"The White Lotus and I are also prepared to fight. If you don't mind, We'll take a stab at him first," Tenzin replied, making Khana softly smirk.

"Feel free to. May as well save the best for last," Khana jested as Tenzin chuckled at her retort.

"Let's get going then. The sooner we put down this False Avatar, the better," Tenzin informed them as the four ventured off back towards the Heart of Chaos.

Tenzin, Lin, Ty Lee and Khana stood before everyone, Zu smiling at the change in Khana's demeanour whilst The White Lotus turned to Tenzin.

"Are you ready, Tenzin?" Shu asked as the Air Nomad nodded.

"Then come, we will strike down Talos and take back the Avatar Spirit!" Shu proclaimed as the White Lotus marched towards the Heart of Chaos, its mighty crystal structure looming over them.

The White Lotus traversed across the bridge, their footsteps reverberating around the crystalline interior as Talos sat up in his obsidian throne with a bemused expression.

"Still no Claire... How disappointing," Talos groaned, but the longer he looked, the more he recognised them.

"But The White Lotus? Now, this is a surprise," Talos positively greeted them.

"Wow... it really is the kid from the North Pole," Ho Tun exclaimed as Talos lightly scoffed, remaining seated atop his throne.

"This 'kid' is now the Avatar... The True Avatar," Talos proclaimed, outstretching his arms with pride.

"You steal the Avatar Spirit and call yourself the True Avatar?" Kya bewilderingly asked him.

"Clearly he's delusional," Shu muttered as Talos weightlessly floated up and stood atop his throne, menacingly standing over The White Lotus.

"I am mere moments away from truly correcting the errors of the Universe. Once Claire returns and falls to my hand. I will be the Avatar, and none of you will stop me!" Talos proclaimed, raising his arms to The White Lotus as they prepared for combat.

"Come, White Lotus!" Talos challenged them.

The four masters launched their individual elements at Talos whilst he grinned with glee, outstretching his hand and raising a wall of impenetrable violet flame, crushing the earth, and extinguishing the fire, air and water of the masters as they all looked on in awe, watching the violet flames dissipate and reveal Talos proudly stood behind them.

Ho Tun kicked up an obsidian boulder, followed by Shu unleashing a quick comet of fire, but Talos awaited their approach, weightlessly drifting into the air and landing on top the boulder, stopping its movement and taking control of Shu's red flames, bending it to his will as they turned violet before being extinguished.

Kya relentlessly whipped out a watery tendril at Talos, ensnaring him as Tenzin, Shu and Ho Tun launched the elements at Talos, but the Avatar bent the watery tendril to his will, pulling Kya into him then leaping from the floating boulder, switching places with Kya as the elements collided against her.

"Kya!" Tenzin cried out as the other masters gawked, watching the fire scorch her right arm as the obsidian crushed her left arm, and finally the air slamming her into Talos' throne, making the water-bending master pass out atop it.

Talos grinned at the remaining masters with radiating malice as they joined back together. The Avatar leapt in towards Ho Tun, his blade poised to strike at his neck, but Ho Tun bent the metal of the blade, pulling it away and down to the ground, surprising Talos as Shu kicked out a mighty wave of flame, followed by a howling slash of air from Tenzin, but Talos raised another wall of flame, nullifying their attacks before condensing it into his right palm, ejecting a roaring blaze of violet fire towards Ho Tun.

Ho Tun desperately released his hold over Talos' blade arm, raising an obsidian wall and blocking the fire, but as he did Talos dashed forward, smashing through the wall and viciously striking Ho Tun's gut, the earth-bender's skin rippling before he shot off into the Heart of Chaos' interior, bouncing and cracking the crystal wall before landing face-first into the Obsidian, Ho Tun's hand raising to Shu and Tenzin.

"If you two don't mind... I'm just gonna take five down here," Ho Tun groggily spoke before flopping his arm on the ground.

Talos turned to Shu and Tenzin, raising his hand and taunting them to attack, to which Shu leapt in, kicking out waves of flame from his feet whilst Talos parried and blocked his attacks, waiting for an opening in his guard whilst Tenzin weaved around to give support to Shu.

Shu viciously kicked out, ejecting a mighty roar of fire from his foot, but Talos leant back into his stance, letting the fire surge over him as he bent the water by the Obsidian Bridge, latching onto Shu's leg and dragging him towards the water, slamming him into the crystal interior and knocking him out, but as Shu fell to the water, Talos froze part of it, giving Shu an island to float on, befuddling Tenzin as Talos turned to him.

"Tenzin... Son of Aang. I hope you're worthy of those Master tattoos," Talos taunted him as Tenzin leapt in, blasting Talos with powerful drafts of air, but try as he might, Talos easily countered his attacks, brushing them aside, preparing to strike whilst Tenzin spiralled away, avoiding the slice of his sword and kicking out a blast of air from his foot, but Talos weaved the blast, smirking at Tenzin before unleashing several slashes of Fire, water and Air.

Tenzin grimaced at him, weaving through the slashes as he closed the gap between them, but as Tenzin leapt in to counter-attack, Talos flashed before his eyes, standing mere inches from him and striking Tenzin's gut, unleashing a pressurised gale from his fist and launching him across the room, smashing Tenzin onto the floor, groaning as he turned his exhausted, angered gaze up at Talos.

"Oh, Tenzin, sorry to say but your pitiful performance isn't impressing daddy one bit," Talos mocked him as Tenzin roared, pushinh himself back up, but Talos weightlessly leapt into the air, drifting over to Tenzin and slamming his foot down on his head, smashing through the obsidian and throwing Tenzin into unconsciousness.

Talos smirked at him, waltzing back over to his throne as he gazed around at the three fallen masters.

"I hope you teach better than you fight," Talos told them as he began bending the air, but as he did, his eyes widened, swiftly pivoting around and swiping up with his blade arm, shattering an ice spike Kya had aimed at his heart. Talos nervously gazed upon the wounded Kya sat in his throne before scoffing at her.

"Nice try," Talos complimented her before swiftly grasping her the throat, picking her up and slinging her onto the ground before the other masters, bending the air around them and dragging them all before him.

"I dare say you people make for superb entertainment," Talos chuckled, unleashing a howling gale and blowing them out of the Heart of Chaos.

Zu looked up at the falling masters, sprinting and leaping into the air.

"Li, get Kaz to help!" Zu shouted as he caught Ho Tun and Shu whilst Li pulled out the stick.

"Hey, Kaz," Li spoke into the stick, his eye quickly twitching before Kaz leapt into the air, drifting up to Tenzin and catching him before gracefully weaving over to Kya and plucking her out of the air.

Zu smashed back down onto the ground, standing up straight before carrying his two over to where the Governors lay, erecting four more earthen beds whilst Kaz fell towards the ground, breaking his fall with a gust of air before rushing over to the earthen beds, laying Tenzin and Kya down atop them.

"He's even beat the White Lotus? Just how strong is this guy?" Sky exclaimed as he gazed upon them.

"I sure hope one of the other nation's armies are coming our way," Lin muttered as she looked up at the Heart of Chaos, letting out a heavy sigh as she did.


	4. The Mysterious Mountain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kang ventures the Earth Kingdom, reuniting with an old friend, and with his help, finds a Clan thought lost to the ages

Kang ventured through the Northern Earth Kingdom, striding through village after village, seeing the misery brought upon the land by the Chaos, trying to not let it distract him as he pressed forward.

Kang marched through a village of small huts of wood and hay neatly aligned within a borderless area. The mad inventor stopped in the middle of the village, taking a break and searching for somewhere to sit down, but as he did something tugged on his pant leg, looking down to see a young boy gazing up at him.

"Hello there!" Kang greeted him, smiling softly as he knelt to the boy's level. The young boy remained silent for a moment as he gazed at Kang.

"Are you... a Fire Nation prince?" The young boy asked, curiously swaying side to side as Kang lightly shrugged.

"In a manner of speaking," Kang replied, smirking as he did.

"That must mean you're really strong, right?" The young boy asked, his enthusiasm growing as Kang lit an azure flame on the tip of his finger.

"You betcha," Kang happily replied.

"Can you help me save my mama?" The young boy asked as Kang took a sharp breath.

"Do you know where she is?" Kang asked, urgency oozing in his voice.

"Follow me!" The young boy replied as he began running off, shortly followed by Kang, hearing the grunts of a man fighting as they ventured forth.

"Is that your mother?" Kang quizzically asked.

"I don't think so... someone must have already shown up!" The young boy replied as they ran towards the sound of battle, standing atop a small Cliffside, looking down to see a black hooded man in metal greaves and gauntlets battling against a pack of crazed hog-monkeys, whilst a woman cowered behind a rock.

"Wait here!" Kang told the boy as he slid down the cliff, joining the black-hooded man. Kang raced in, scorching the ground around the hog-monkeys, scaring most of the pack away whilst the black-hooded man opened up a shadowy portal beneath the rest, casting them into the Shadow Realm.

Kang and the black-hooded man stood back to back as they scanned the area before turning around, being slightly spooked by each other.

"Eamon?" Kang asked as he raised an eyebrow to his presence.

"Kang?" Eamon asked as he swiped down his hood and gawked.

The young boy slid down the Cliffside, running down to Kang and Eamon as the woman perked out from behind the rock, seeing that the Hog-monkeys had fled back into the surrounding wilderness.

"You two were great!" The young boy told them, both Kang and Eamon smiling at him as his mother approached, swiftly lifting him into his arms.

"Are you alright?" The mother asked as she checked over the boy.

"I'm fine, mama!" The young boy protested as the mother smiled at him before turning to Kang and Eamon.

"Thank you both! If there's any way I can repay you-" The mother asked, but Kang and Eamon raised their hands to her.

"No need to repay us, we're just doing what we need to do to help," Eamon replied as the mother bowed her head before running back to the village, leaving Eamon and Kang whilst they turned to each other, the Shadow-bender bewilderingly gazing upon the mad inventor.

"Sweet Shadows, you've been on quite the journey, haven't you?" Eamon exclaimed as Kang lightly shrugged.

"Got my arm cut off by the Avatar's friend, almost got killed by a Gorilla-Bear Spirit... twice, then... visited my mother," Kang bluntly explained his journey whilst Eamon stared in amazement.

"You... went back there?" Eamon replied in shock as Kang nodded, taking in a shaky breath as he did.

"Yeah... and now, I'm heading back to Republic City to bring down Talos!" Kang replied, clenching his prosthetic fist at the thought of him.

"If you're going to be taking on the person who did this... you're going to need more than just your fire and Lightning Generation," Eamon told him, causing Kang to give him a perplexed look.

"You're not planning on making me a Shadow-Bender, are you?" Kang asked as he crossed his arms.

"No, no! I wouldn't put anyone through those trials," Eamon replied as he shuddered.

"But I found something that might interest you in," Eamon added as he looked at an enormous mountain in the distance, punching a hole in the fabric of reality and conjuring a way into the Shadow Realm whilst Kang gawked at it, rubbing his eyes before gawking further.

"Huh... I owe Zu and apology," Kang said aloud, shocked to see that the Shadow Realm exists.

"Follow me!" Eamon told him as he hopped through the portal whilst Kang questioned it for a moment before shrugging and following Eamon through the portal.

The two found themselves in a bleak mirror dimension of the mortal world where everything appeared desaturated.

"Eamon! Why am I floating!?" Kang asked as he hovered above the ground whilst Eamon smirked at him.

"In the Shadow Realm, nothing weighs you down! You'll get used to it, think of it like swimming, but you can breathe!" Eamon replied as he soared in the mountain's direction.

Kang took a while to grasp the ways of traversing the Shadow realm, flailing his arms and kicking out his legs until he eventually got the hang of it, quickly catching up to Eamon.

The two chattered to themselves as they approached the mountain, hovering before it whilst Kang curiously observed it.

"You brought me to see a mountain?" Kang quizzically asked as he looked at Eamon.

"Not the mountain, what's ****inside**** the Mountain," Eamon replied, focusing on the mountain, bending the Shadow of it to reveal the interior to Kang, revealing the hollow interior containing a small civilisation.

"You brought me to see mountain people?" Kang quizzically asked once again.

"Not just any people, look closer!" Eamon replied as he brought Kang closer to the mountain, observing the inhabitance, noting their monk robes and bald heads, as well as seeming some with hair which only covered the backside of their head.

"... Air Nomads?" Kang asked in disbelieve as Eamon nodded.

"I doubt Avatar Aang's Air Acolytes would coop up inside a mountain when they have the Air Temples..." Eamon explained whilst Kang uneasily looked to him.

"What do you say we go an introduce ourselves?" Eamon asked him as Kang thought it over, but before he could deliver a proper answer, Eamon opened a portal inside the mountain, whisking him through and into the interior of the mountain.

The two appeared in the centre of the gigantic carved out cave, a large pit filled with poles for Airball surrounded them, statues of past Air-bending Masters and Gurus covered the walls, as well as resting areas carved into the sidewalls of the cave.

The residents of the mountain all bewilderingly gazed at Eamon and Kang as the duo stood up straight, looking around at the Air-benders.

"Wow... there really are Air Nomads here!" Kang exclaimed, walking forward across a bridge, but as he strode toward them, his Hairpin caught their eye, immediately throwing the Air-benders into hostility.

"Alert the elder! The Fire Nation has invaded Air Mountain!" An Air-bender shouted as their fellows hopped along the poles and blocked the bridge, slowly encroaching on Eamon and Kang whilst the mad inventor glared at his friend.

"Eamon... if we get out of here, I will kill you!" Kang told him, half-joking as he raised his hands to the approaching Air-benders.

"Oh C'mon, Kang! At least be original!" Eamon replied with a smirk as the Air-benders leapt in, swiping and blasting air at the duo whilst they defended themselves with blockades of Fire and Shadow.

"Hey, Eamon... can you still do that bending block thing?" Kang asked as he continued to block the attacks of the air-benders.

"Oh, yeah... that'd be helpful," Eamon replied with a brief chuckle, channelling his Shadow-Bending and unleashing a daunting shadow amongst him, Kang and the Air-benders, and as the air-benders tried to continue their assault, the Shadows blocking their bending threw them off, causing many to fall and clasp onto the poles whilst the others sceptically looked around.

"Alright... step two of your plan?" Eamon asked as he looked at the confused Air-benders.

"... Play nice?" Kang asked as Eamon lightly groaned, the Air-benders encroaching once more, but an elder approached the crowd, tatty orange monk robes adorned his entire body whilst brown beads adorned his neck. He had a bald wrinkly head and a white wispy goatee.

"What is this I hear of a Fire Nation invasion?" The elder asked, eyeing up Eamon and Kang, spotting the Fire Nation hairpin on Kang's head.

"I can't believe it... after One hundred and Sixty-Five years... they've found us!" The Elder quietly exclaimed as he marched across the bridge, the crowd of Air-benders making way for him.

"Why does the Fire-Nation still attack us? After all these years!? If you want the Avatar, go to the Earth Kingdom! Surely they've been reborn there by now," The elder proclaimed.

"What in the world is he talking about?" Eamon exclaimed as a realisation hit Kang.

"Eamon... they still think the war's ongoing!" Kang muttered to him in surprise as Eamon's eyes widened.

"How many have you brought with you? An army? Your entire nation? Does the existence of Air-benders still wound you so!?" The elderly Air-bender shouted, his pained words echoing throughout the mountain.

"We're not here to hurt you! We've come in peace!" Kang replied, lowering his arms to his side.

"The Fire nation doesn't know the meaning! You genocidal maniac!" The Elder scolded him whilst Kang slanted his gaze at him.

"The War is over! It ended Sixty-Five years ago at the hands of Avatar Aang!" Kang shouted, taking aback the air-benders.

"Avatar Aang died before the war began! How do you know his name!?" The elder asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Because I met him, he survived for one hundred years in an iceberg!" Kang explained.

"I'm not making that up, there's a whole play dedicated to his adventures... gone through a handful of rewrites since the first release though," Kang nonchalantly added as Eamon groaned at the mention of the play 'Boy in the Iceberg', whilst the Elder thought to himself, stroking his wispy beard as he did.

"Air Clan! Stand down! I want a word with these... 'invaders'," The elder commanded, the Air Clan turning their gaze from Eamon and Kang and returning to their activities.

"Come then, Fire Nation Prince... and his servant, I presume?" The Elder asked as Eamon slanted his eyes at the Elder.

"This is my friend, Eamon... he's a Water-Bender," Kang replied, the elder's eyes slightly widening.

"Well then, Prince, Eamon... follow me," The elder told them as he departed across the bridge, guiding them to a secluded room.

Lit candles illuminated the room, scrolls draped over the sidewalls, and a statue of an air-bender Guru sat on the far wall. The Elder knelt before a small table, as did Kang and Eamon.

"Now, tell me, Prince. What has become of the world since the genocide of my people?" The elder asked.

"Well... in short, Avatar Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai, the great-grandson of Fire Lord Sozin. His Son, Fire Lord Zuko, now sits on the throne. And with him in power, the war ended. And together, Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko built the United Republic of Nations," Kang briefly explained.

"Fascinating... now tell me this... if it's not the Fire Nation, then what has caused this Chaotic energy that plagues the skies?" The elder curiously asked.

"That would be The Avatar... well, an Avatar," Kang replied, the Elder and Eamon both looking to him with surprise.

"There should only be one Avatar, not two, or three... only one!" The elder disbelievingly replied.

"Well, when you've got a guy being driven by Envy and Spite learning ancient bending techniques, you get two avatars," Kang jested in mild annoyance whilst the Elder and Eamon remained quiet.

"If you don't mind me asking... how did the Air-benders survive?" Kang asked as the tension rose in the air.

"From what I remember of my father's stories. After the death of Avatar Roku, tensions began rising within the Fire Nation, and the Western Air Temple caught wind of them building machines of war... and so four masters of each temple devised, operation 'Air Mountain'," The elder began lamenting his tale.

"Over the next decade, the four masters would gather outside this mountain to discuss the growing tension in the Fire Nation, and upon the eve of The Great Comet, the four masters prepared the evacuation of each temple..." The Elder continued.

"I can hear a 'but' coming," Kang interjected, to which the elder nodded.

"But the Fire Nation arrived a day earlier than expected, murdering Air-benders without remorse, although the evacuation was less than successful... a handful of Air-benders survived. The Four Masters, Nine boys, Eight Girls and Three baby Sky bison," The Elder continued.

"They tried their best to rally the Air nomads who roamed the world during the day of the comet... but Sozin had set traps for them, his Fire-benders slaying them without pause," The elder continued telling the story whilst Kang and Eamon both sympathetically gazed at him.

"The masters commissioned several earth-benders to dig out the hollow within this mountain, but due to the Fire Nation's influence, they killed all the Earth-benders who assisted them," The elder told them, surprising the duo.

"Why would they do that? I thought Air nomads were pacifists?" Kang disbelievingly asked.

"The Fire Nation had a firm hold over the world after the day of The Great Comet, and so fearing for their safety, the four masters couldn't allow any outsiders to know of their location," The elder explained.

"We had to forsake our philosophy, we renounced our pacifism and fought for our survival, creating new techniques to swiftly execute any invaders or outsiders who strode too close to our home!" The elder explained.

"Isn't that a little... extreme?" Eamon hesitantly asked him.

"Tell me, Water-Bender. If someone pushed your entire race to the verge of extinction, would you not do the same in the name of survival?" The elder dauntingly asked as he leant towards Eamon, the Shadow-bender remaining silent as the elder nodded.

"Exactly what I thought," The elder replied to Eamon's silence before resuming the tale.

"After the masters created Air Mountain, we thrived within it, we could no longer openly roam the world, so many of us needed to be in disguise whenever we ventured out into the Earth Kingdom..." The elder continued.

"We have lived in fear of the Fire Nation for over a century and a half... as you can imagine, some more recent members of the Air Clan abandoned the mountain entirely," The elderly Air-bender told them, hanging his head.

"Most notably Zaheer, a prestigious member of the Air Clan left to 'seek freedom from the binds of the Air Clan', joining an organisation known as The Red Lotus. And Wu, a woman of few words left with a mercenary band a long time ago," The elder explained.

"Well... with the war over, you can return to the Air Temples! You don't need to hide in this mountain anymore," Kang explained, but the elder shook his head.

"The Air nomads are dead, prince. We are no longer travellers or pacifists, we have even given up our air-bending master tattoos... in our attempt to survive, our culture died," The elder sombrely told him.

"I'm... sorry," Kang replied in a shaky voice as the elder softly glared.

"An apology fixes nothing, prince... but I appreciate it," The elder replied as Kang briefly smiled at him, seeing the elder smile back.

"Either way, I have told you our tale, now is there any reason you came here?" The elder asked as the three stood back up. Kang's eyes perked opened as he pulled out the tome from Wan Shi Tong's Library.

"Could you... teach me how to Air-bend?" Kang asked as he clasped the book, taking aback the Elder and Eamon.

"But you're a Fire-bender... there's no way you can learn to Air-bend! Unless... you're secretly the Avatar?" The elderly air-bender replied as he looked Kang up and down.

"Well, no. But I found this tome, and it describes how someone can learn to bend a second element!" Kang told him as he flicked to the page he referred to, passing it to the elder as he scanned through the texts.

"A bender can learn to bend a second element which does not oppose their own. But after learning their second element, they will prevent themselves from learning another," The elder read aloud, his eyes widening as he did.

"Are you sure you wish to learn air-bending?" The elder asked in a steely voice as Kang determinedly nodded.

"Then come, prince! We shall train you post haste!" The elder replied as he clapped the tome shut, sauntering out of the room with Kang in tow whilst Eamon crossed his arms, slumping back in his posture.

"Huh... Fire Nation Prince learning Air-bending. There's some irony in that," Eamon commented on their situation before following them.


	5. Reunion of Team Avatar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko rallies his old friends, soaring across the skies to help in the fight against the False Avatar

Druk soared through the chaotic skies of the South Pole with Zuko on his neck, keeping an eye out for the Southern tribe, spying the gigantic city on the horizon.

"Druk! Down there!" Zuko shouted as the dragon let out an affirmative gruff, descending towards the Southern Water Tribe and smacking down in front of Sokka's castle, rumbling the foundations and spooking Sokka atop his throne.

"I hope that wasn't an Ice-quake," Sokka groaned as he ran outside, seeing Druk looming over him, shocking Sokka as he stumbled back.

"What is a Dragon doing here!?" Sokka exclaimed as Suki and Bumi ran out to check on the rumbling, both being equally shocked by the sight of Druk, but Zuko boosted himself off the Dragon with jets of fire, landing before Sokka, Suki and Bumi.

"Good to see you too, Sokka," Zuko told him with a smile.

"Zuko!" Sokka exclaimed with hands in the air, both going in for a firm handshake whilst Suki and Bumi stood before Zuko with smiles along their faces.

"What brings you to the Southern Water Tribe, Zuko?" Suki informally asked.

"Do I really need to answer that?" Zuko asked as he gestured to the Chaos above them, the energy rumbling in the skies.

"Let me guess... getting 'Team Avatar' back together?" Bumi asked in a cross-armed slouched posture.

"That's the plan... is Katara here?" Zuko asked curiously as he looked around. Sokka nodded.

"Come on! She's inside," Sokka replied as he led Zuko, Suki and Bumi back into the dimly lit interior of the Ice castle. Katara stood before Sokka's throne, fondly smiling at them as they approached.

"That's not a face I thought I'd be seeing again," Katara sombrely spoke with a smile.

"It's good to see you all again... I'm assuming Kya has already left?" Zuko replied as he looked around whilst Bumi interjected, strutting around to Zuko.

"My sister left about a day or two ago... hard to tell when the sky is a perpetual black," Bumi informed him.

"Speaking of the sky... do you have any idea why it's like this?" Katara asked.

"Shu and I have both determined that the Avatar is the cause," Zuko firmly replied, surprising everyone.

"Surely Claire wouldn't do this! Aang would have deterred her from doing so!" Katara adamantly argued.

"The Avatar is the only one in the world with this kind of power. Who else could it be?" Zuko asked, causing everyone to slump down in their postures as they thought to themselves.

"Zuko's right... if the Avatar really has gone bad... we're gonna need to take her down!" Sokka argued in favour of Zuko, the chief slamming his fist into his palm.

"I agree. If we don't get her to listen to reason or take her down: we'll end up stuck like this," Suki argued in favour of Zuko as Katara let out a heavy sigh.

"So be it," Katara sombrely replied, team Avatar departing from Sokka's castle, followed by Bumi.

"Mind if I tag along?" Bumi asked as the team looked to one another.

"Sure, Bumi!" Sokka happily replied as everyone hopped aboard Druk, sitting in the saddle whilst Zuko took the reins, commanding Druk to ascend into the skies.

The group soared through the Chaotic skies, silence looming over them before Sokka spotted the Giant tree of the swamp in the distance.

"Zuko, over there! That's where Toph is!" Sokka spoke aloud as he pointed to the swamp, but Zuko raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"I thought Toph roamed the Four Nations?" Zuko curiously replied.

"She did, but recently she's made the swamp her home... hopefully she's still there," Katara informed him as Zuko nodded, descending for the swamp and smacking down in the pungent river, spraying the lake water all over their surroundings.

"If we were Toph... where would we be?" Sokka asked as he looked around.

"She'll be on the ground level, that's for sure," Suki replied as she too looked around, but as they searched atop Druk, an earthen pillar shot up at his side, carrying Toph atop it as she hopped onto Druk's saddle, spooking Sokka as he leapt over to Suki.

"Or right under your noses," Toph nonchalantly told them as Zuko gave her an awkward stare.

"Did we... land on you?" Zuko asked, wincing and hoping he didn't.

"Almost. Another few inches and I would've been paste!" Toph replied with a quick chuckle as she looked off into the distance.

"You're here about all this Chaos, aren't you?" Toph bluntly asked as everyone quizzically looked to one another.

"Wait... how do you know about what's happening?" Sokka asked her as he curiously looked her over.

"I don't need to see to tell someone's unleashed a mass of Chaotic energy, dunderhead!" Toph replied in a scolding tone.

"Do you by chance know who's done it?" Bumi curiously asked.

"I'm fairly certain it's the Avatar... to think, Twinkle Toes turned into this," Toph replied, her posture slumping in disappointment.

"It's up to us to uphold Aang's legacy! Are you with us, Toph?" Zuko confidently asked her.

"Hmm... one last round of battle with you guys? I may be old, but sure! Why not?" Toph enthusiastically replied, cracking a smile along everyone's faces as Druk ascended back into the sky, flying towards Republic City.

"Are you sure it's in Republic City, Zuko?" Sokka asked as Toph held onto his arm.

"Shu reckons it's 'Ground Zero', and I'm inclined to believe him," Zuko replied as he continued soaring, and as they flew, the Heart of Chaos came into view, shocking everyone except for Toph.

"What are we all gawking at?" Toph quizzically asked.

"It's... a Giant Crystal..." Sokka softly exclaimed.

"And I don't think it's friendly," Suki nervously added as Sokka looked over to her with a slanted gaze whilst Zuko determinedly glared at the Heart of Chaos as Druk descended towards the front of the giant crystal.

"Wait, Zuko! There are people down there!" Katara exclaimed as Khana, Sky, Lin, The Governors, Zu, Li and Ty Lee saw Druk come into land.

"DRAGON!!" Hou exclaimed as he went to kick up a boulder at it, but Khana quickly leapt in, overpowering Hou's bending.

"Hold your Ostrich-Horses! That's Fire Lord Zuko!" Khana shouted as everyone on the ground looked at her with surprise as Druk smacked down.

Zuko boosted himself off with jets of Fire, landing before the group whilst the others all climbed off.

"Fire Lord Zuko!" Khana joyously exclaimed, rushing up and hugging him, her sudden affection taking aback Zuko.

"And here I expected a bow," Zuko replied with a smile as Khana lightly grimaced.

"Would you have... preferred a bow?" Khana sheepishly asked.

"No, this is fine," Zuko replied heartily as Khana released her grip, looking over and seeing Suki stood behind him.

"Master Suki!" Khana excitedly exclaimed.

"Mother, Father!" Jing exclaimed, limping over to them, Suki and Sokka embracing Jing in a group hug, shortly releasing their hug and looking over to Khana.

"So this is the Khana I've heard so much about?" Sokka asked as Suki nodded, the two Kyoshi Warriors hugging as Ty Lee approached.

"It's good to see you again, Master Suki!" Khana told her with a soft smile.

"I don't know how many times I've told you that 'Suki' is just fine!" Suki scolded her in a friendly manner as Khana smirked.

"Eh, I like it!" Sokka replied, quickly pulling Suki in as he flexed his arm out to the sky.

"Master Suki!" Sokka told her in an exaggerated voice. Whilst the four conversed, Hou limped over to Toph, shortly followed by Lin.

"I'd know those two footsteps anywhere," Toph spoke with a smirk.

"Hi, mother!" Hou replied with a soft smile.

"It's good to see you again!" Lin told her with a bright smile.

"Likewise, you two," Toph replied to them with a gentle smile, the three embracing one another in a group hug.

"I know I'm not much of a hugger, but I'll make an exception for you two," Toph whispered to them, Hou and Lin's smile's growing bigger. Whilst Toph and her children conversed, Bumi and Katara walked over to Zu and Li, looking down at the unconscious Tenzin and Kya.

"The Avatar did this?" Bumi sombrely asked as he gazed at his siblings.

"Yeah... he's ruthless, that's for sure," Zu replied, his arms crossed as he shook his head, but Katara's eyes widened.

"Wait... 'he'?" Katara asked as she looked up at Zu, catching his attention.

"Ah! Katara, I didn't see you there," Zu replied as he looked down at her.

"And yes... 'he', pretty sure his name is Talos or something like that," Zu nonchalantly replied.

"I knew it!" Katara exclaimed, rushing over to Zuko as Zu watched, seeing Toph stood alongside Hou and Lin.

"CHIEF!" Zu exclaimed, sprinting over to Toph, the ground shaking beneath his feet as he approached Toph. The Giant squatted down to her level, an enormous smile plastered over his face.

"Good to see you too, Zu!" Toph replied with a soft chuckle, the two to caught up with each other whilst Toph's children watched on.

"It's not Claire!" Katara told Zuko as she approached him, catching the Fire Lord off guard.

"Then who is it?" Zuko disbelievingly asked.

"It's her friend... Talos," Katara replied, surprising Zuko.

"She's right, Fire Lord. Take it from the Governors. They were the first to get their asses handed to them," Zu informally replied before continuing his conversation with Toph.

Gao and Sheng limped over, bowing to Zuko before speaking.

"It's true, Fire Lord. Somehow, this man has stolen a part of the Avatar Spirit," Gao explained as Zuko's eyes widened.

"That's somewhat good news and bad news," Zuko replied, looking over to Sokka, Suki and Toph.

"Are you three ready?" Zuko called over to them, the groups ceasing their conversations before looking over to Zuko, then back to their groups.

"Good luck, Master Suki. And Chief Sokka," Khana told them with a brief bow of her head.

"I love you both. And father. You should take this," Jing told them as he gave the Space Sword to Sokka.

"Thank you, Jing!" Sokka replied as he gave him a quick hug, shortly releasing as Sokka and Suki softly smiled at them both before marching over to Zuko.

"Well, time to go kick an Avatar onto their backside!" Toph told Zu, Hou and Lin with a smirk.

"Don't underestimate him, mother," Hou warned her.

"I didn't plan to," Toph told him as she patted the two on their shoulders.

"Hey, Chief. How about a few rounds at the tavern after all this is over?" Zu asked with a hearty smile.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, you big softy," Toph happily replied before marching over to Zuko.

Zuko patted Druk on his neck, the dragon gazing down at him and worryingly sniffing him.

"Return home, Druk. I'll see you when this is over," Zuko told him, Druk let out a soft gruff as he ascended into the skies, soaring east back to the Fire Nation whilst Bumi looked down at Tenzin and Kya, softly gripping their hands.

"Don't worry you two, we're gonna get payback for this!" Bumi determinedly spoke as he watched Team Avatar march towards the Heart of Chaos. The Team strode into the interior, marching across the bridge toward Talos, surprising him as he sat on his throne.

"Well, this is a surprise! Team Avatar comes to grace me with their presence?" Talos exclaimed as he raised his hand and blade out to them, Sokka's eyes widened.

"I recognise that voice..." Sokka muttered as he looked over to Talos, his figure becoming more distinct the further they approached.

"Talos!?" Sokka exclaimed as he gazed upon him.

"Nice to see you too, Chief Sokka!" Talos replied with a smirk.

"What have you done, Talos!? I thought you were returning home to the North Pole?" Sokka furiously asked.

"I did, and when I did I dove into the Spirit World, searching for a way to correct the errors of the universe, and find it I did!" Talos proudly proclaimed.

"'Correct the errors of the universe'? What are you talking about!?" Sokka asked him, the chief's fists clenching.

"I should have been born the Avatar, but the Avatar Spirits made a mistake! I am merely correcting their faults!" Talos explained with his arms outstretched to the side in pride.

"Talk about delusional..." Toph said aloud, but Talos chuckled at her retort.

"And by the way Chief Sokka, you're welcome for the prevention of Unalaq's invasion," Talos told him with a smile.

"Now this I'd love to hear," Sokka replied with his arms crossed.

"Unalaq planned to invade the South and 'set you on the righteous path', most likely through violence... so I killed him, and prevented the invasion," Talos explained with a malicious smirk as Sokka uneasily looked to Toph.

"I know what you're thinking... and he's not lying," Toph told Sokka with equal surprise, the southern chief approaching Talos as he withdrew his space sword.

"I appreciate you stopping the invasion. But It's time to correct your errors, Talos!" Sokka proclaimed as he pointed his space sword to him.

"So be it! Come Team Avatar! See if you can smite down the true Avatar of this age!" Talos challenged them.

Sokka withdrew his boomerang, slinging it towards Talos before charging in, but the Avatar deflected the boomerang with his blade arm, preparing to strike, however, Sokka's sword loomed over him as Toph kicked the obsidian up beneath Talos, launching him into Sokka's sword, the blade slicing across his face.

The Avatar clasped his face as Zuko unleashed a roar of flame whilst Katara unleashed a wave of ice blades towards Talos, the fire and ice closed in on him, but the Avatar weightlessly swerved into the air, creating a sphere of violet fire around himself and nullifying the fire and ice barrage, compressing the flame into his hand as the barrage ceased, outstretching his arm and expanding the flame in a violent violet fury, however, Toph erected an obsidian wall, defending everyone from the blaze.

Talos scoffed as he descended, clashing swords with Sokka whilst Katara, Zuko and Toph supported him with their elements. Suki joined the fray, assisting Sokka with her Katana and shield, the sound of clashing swords, the swishing of water, the roaring of flames and the crushing of obsidian filled the room, sweat breaking on Talos' brow, his heart racing as he defended himself from Team Avatar.

"ENOUGH!" Talos shouted, unleashing a shock-wave and ascending into the air as his eyes glowing black.

"I will not stand for this outrage!" Talos proclaimed as he slammed back down, shaking the foundations of the Heart of Chaos as Team Avatar stumbled and struggled to regain their balance.

Talos glared at Sokka as the chief regained his footing, The Avatar deviously smirked, drifting over to Sokka and kicking his left leg, shattering the knee, the chief yelping as he limped back, falling over and looking to Talos.

"You broke that leg at the end of the war, and no matter how much time passes, a broken leg is always a weak spot!" Talos proclaimed with a malicious smirk as Suki charged in whilst Toph kicked up several obsidian boulders, launching them at Talos, but as Suki and the boulders charged him, Talos seemingly vanished before them, but Toph could sense his movements.

"Suki! Behind you!" Toph exclaimed as Talos loomed behind Suki, her heart skipping a beat as his breath crept on the back of her neck. Talos mercilessly kicked the back of Suki's neck, shattering her spine as she flew over to Sokka, standing proudly over the two, whilst Sokka looked at his wife with worry as she lay there motionless.

"Suki? Suki!?" Sokka shouted as he shook her, but she didn't respond, Sokka welling up as Talos gritted his teeth, descending from the Avatar state.

Talos pressed his foot against the ground, sensing Suki's faint heartbeat, and with a swift flick of his wrist, he bent the water up from by the bridge, swirling it around Suki's neck as it emitted a radiant healing light, slowly fading as Suki perked back up, grasping her neck to find it unbroken.

Team Avatar sceptically looked to Talos as he silently twisted around to Zuko, Katara and Toph.

"Come on then," Talos challenged them as the three launched their elements at Talos, the Avatar meeting it with a wall of obsidian, punching and slashing out chunks of it at the three benders, and as he did, Suki rejoined the fight piercing Talos' stomach with her Katana.

Talos fell forward, feeling the blade pierce through him, and with bloodied gritted teeth, Talos twisted around, snapping the blade with his own body and striking Suki's gut, cracking her armour.

"This is how you repay my mercy!?" Talos spoke with a ragged breath as he grasped her robes and hoisted Suki up into the air, slamming her into the obsidian ground, knocking her out before throwing her back over to Sokka.

"Before you panic, Chief Sokka," Talos spoke to him as he pulled the snapped Katana blade from his stomach, groaning before throwing it onto the ground, an ominous black light emitting from the wound, his flesh forming around the pierced area.

"She's alive," Talos added as he turned to Zuko, Toph and Katara.

Zuko unleashed a crescent of Fire at Talos but he parted the fire to his side, slowly approaching the fire lord as he unleashed multiple fire jabs, backing away whilst Toph shot up stalagmites of obsidian underneath the Avatar and Katara whipped at him from afar, but Talos blocked and parried their attacks, keeping his gaze on Zuko.

The Fire Lord took a deep breath, raising and slamming his foot whilst punching down, unleashing a roaring coil of fire at Talos, but the Avatar punched out at the fire, flexing his fingers and parting the fire, the blaze of red turning violet as he inched ever closer, parrying whips of water and boulders of obsidian whilst Zuko strained, seeing Talos looming behind the fire.

The Avatar pushed through the flames, grasping Zuko by the neck and hoisting him up.

"You can't fire-bend if you can't breathe!" Talos proclaimed before smashing Zuko into the obsidian. The Fire Lord breathlessly laid there, Talos looming over him with his blade poised.

"And trust me, you won't be breathing much longer!" Talos proclaimed, arching out his blade and bringing it down on Zuko, but Katara and Toph attacked with boulders of ice and obsidian, knocking him away from Zuko.

Talos groaned as he hit the floor, gritting his teeth as he stood back up, dashing in at the two ladies, but Toph shot up an obsidian stalagmite, almost piercing through Talos' head as he deftly swept around it, bringing his blade down upon her, but before it could inch closer, Toph metal-bent the blade, pushing it away from her before striking up another obsidian stalagmite, Talos quickly defended himself with his own, the two pieces shattering as Talos weightlessly drifted away.

"I figured you two would be annoying to take down," Talos taunted them.

"Me and Sugar Queen aren't your run-of-the-mill benders, boy," Toph retorted as the two stood strong, but Talos deviously smirked.

"Average or prodigy. Novice or Master. Peasant or Royalty. All are but mere weaklings before the Avatar!" Talos proudly proclaimed, an inky black aura radiating from his form, fear growing within Toph as confusion grew within Katara.

"A hog-monkey can never stand up to a Lion turtle! And compared to me, Toph and Katara," Talos preached to them, raising his blade behind him as the blade arched outwards.

"You two are but mere hog-monkeys!" Talos shouted as he dashed towards them, Toph couldn't sense his approach, and Katara never saw him move, time had seemingly stopped, the Avatar appearing behind them with his blade arm poised in the air, crimson blood trickling down it, and before Toph and Katara knew it, they collapsed to the ground whilst Talos stood over them proudly.

"A valiant effort, Team Avatar... but like all others, it left much to be desired," Talos told them as he marched back over to his throne, but before he could bend the air, he noticed someone charging in from the entrance.

"What's this?" Talos asked as he walked out into the centre of the carnage, seeing Bumi charge at him like a bull, fists poised to strike.

"Oh! It's you!" Talos chuckled, dropping his guard.

"This is for my family!" Bumi shouted as he sprinted at Talos, but the Avatar simply smirked, letting Bumi come closer.

But to Talos' surprise, Bumi landed a swift right hook to his jaw, blowing the Avatar back and onto the ground. Bumi watched him flop onto the ground as Zuko perked his head up, seeing Talos shake his head as he tried standing back up.

"Son of a-" "Don't talk about my mama that way!" Bumi cut the groaning Talos off, kicking the avatar's rear and propelling him back into his throne. Talos stood up, looking at Bumi with a bewildered glare.

"You've got some nerve, you simple-minded oaf..." Talos snarled as he bent the surrounding air, pulling Team Avatar into one spot whilst Bumi tried his best to resist the wind's pull.

"I'll spare you the beating, Bumi. Now begone with the rest of your family!" Talos shouted as he unleashed a howling gale, blasting Team Avatar and Bumi out of the Heart of Chaos. Team Avatar and Bumi flew out of the Heart of Chao whilst everyone looked on in shock.

"Chief!" Zu shouted, launching himself up to Toph and catching her and Bumi out of the air, Khana shot herself up into the air, catching Sokka and Suki whilst Lin and Hou shot themselves up to catch Katara and Zuko.

The four earth-benders descended whilst everyone else looked on in horror, Zu quickly kicked up five earthen beds for them, setting Toph down as Bumi hopped out of his arms. Khana quickly lay Sokka and Suki down, whilst Lin and Hou laid down Katara and Zuko.

"Li! Get on it, and fast!" Zu commanded as Li ran over to Team Avatar, quickly beginning to heal them.

Sky looked on with a heavy gaze, turning away as he marched away from the group, but Khana looked over to him, then turned to Ty Lee.

"Master Ty Lee, please look after Master Suki and the others," Khana asked her with a bow before quickly chasing after Sky, catching up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Khana quizzically asked him, but Sky remained silent as he turned to Khana.

"We're doomed," Sky muttered with a heavy sigh.

"Not yet, we can still fight!" Khana tried encouraging him, but Sky shook his head.

"He's already beaten the Governors, The White Lotus and Avatar Aang's friends... what hope do we have?" Sky pessimistically asked as he shrugged his arms out to his side.

"I'm sure you and your swords have a trick up your sleeve, plus with Ty Lee and me by your side, we'll be able to block his Chi and Lin can squish him under the earth!" Khana explained, mimicking the movements of Chi-blocking and earth-bending whilst Sky smirked, shaking his head once more.

"I don't know, Khana... He's an Avatar, the strongest there is," Sky replied, fear rippling through his voice, but Khana firmly placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Sky, never be afraid to look the Spirit of Death in the eye, and say 'Not Today'!" Khana told him with a steely glare, Sky sceptically looked at her, swallowing his fear as he looked to The Heart of Chaos.

"Alright... let's go get him," Sky replied, confidence blooming inside him as the two walked back over to the group.


	6. Finding the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire still wanders the Spirit World, seeking out her past lives for advice in her plight

Claire ventured through the dark and dreary landscape of The Spirit World, leaving Kaishi's tomb behind in search of her past lives, seeking council about her situation.

"If I was Aang... where would I be?" Claire asked herself as she looked around.

"During Aang's time in The Spirit World, he found Avatar Yangchen high above the clouds. Perhaps you will find him and other Air nomad Avatars up there," Vaatu informed her as Claire looked to the sky-piercing mountain range above, slowly whistling as she observed it.

"How do I get up there?" Claire asked in an oblivious manner.

"Are you forgetting you're here physically, young Avatar?" Vaatu asked as Claire's eyes awkwardly widened.

"Uh... nope, definitely didn't forget!" Claire replied as she marched toward the base of the mountain, placing her hand against it, inspecting the structure of the mountain with a curious gaze.

"I think Earth-bending's going to be my best ticket up," Claire said aloud, taking a firm stance.

"Ooh, what gave you that idea?" Vaatu sarcastically replied.

"The earth mostly," Claire nonchalantly replied, thrusting her arms back and forth as she ascended the mountain.

"Good thing I'm not blindfolded this time," Claire muttered to herself, eventually reaching the top and hopping off her slab of earth, watching it crumble as she looked out to the starry sky and the clouds beneath her feet, taking a raspy breath at the sight of it.

"Be wary, the air is thin up here," Vaatu warned her as Claire silently looked around, a spiritual form beginning to materialise before her, taking the shape of Aang.

"It's good to see you're alive, Claire," Aang told her as Claire softly smiled.

"Feels good to be alive!" Claire replied.

"And I must say... interesting way to deal with the Insane Spirits," Aang told her with a smirk, making Claire lightly wince.

"Even you heard that?" Claire sheepishly asked as Aang lightly chuckled.

"Me and Seven hundred and Twenty-Three of your past lives," Aang replied as Claire nonchalantly looked around.

"Well... may not have been the best method, but it worked!" Claire replied in a suave manner before clearing her throat.

"I'm here for your advice... what do I do about Talos?" Claire dauntingly asked.

"I'm aware of what your friend has done. I can feel the pain he's inflicting upon the world and your friends..." Aang replied, Claire's eyes widening.

"... What's he doing?" Claire asked, her muscles tensing.

"He's already mercilessly beaten The Governors of Republic City and Your elemental Masters... and right now... I can sense that my friends are doing battle with him," Aang worryingly explained.

"What do I do about Talos? I know I have to get back Raava but... how do I do it?" Claire asked, bewilderingly flexing out her arms.

"There is a Lion-Turtle within the Spirit World... you could go to him and request the gift of Energy-bending," Aang recommended.

"Energy-bending... and take away his bending?" Claire asked, a lump growing in her throat.

"Yes, without his bending, Avatar Spirit or not, Talos would no longer be a threat," Aang adamantly explained.

"Talos takes pride in his abilities as a bender... a bit too much pride," Claire muttered, dismally looking to Aang, "taking those away would be a fate worse than death for him!"

"All life in the two worlds are sacred, Claire. Even as Avatars, we do not have the right to take away a person's life," Aang told her, remaining adamant.

"... I'm sorry, I can't take his bending..." Claire disapprovingly replied as Aang let out a heavy sigh.

"Even so... stride for a peaceful resolution. If you're looking for your other past lives, Roku may still reside near the swamp region," Aang told her as he faded away, the young avatar letting out a heavy sigh as she watched him fade away. Claire descended partway down the mountain, seeing the swamp Aang mentioned in the distance.

Claire ventured through the Spirit World, taking in the various sights of the world before finding the swamp, a dank, mostly brown area, the young avatar diving into it with reckless abandon.

"Roku?" Claire called out, but silence met her call before a pillar of Fire ejected from the ground, Roku appearing before her.

"Avatar! It is good to see you yet live," Roku greeted her.

"Do, uh... all my past lives think I'm dead or something?" Claire asked with her fists to her hips.

"We all felt the severing of the Avatar Spirit, and for a time... we weren't sure whether or not your friend destroyed the cycle," Roku explained as Claire let out a brief, heavy sigh.

"Sorry to put you all through that... but I'm alive, so if you wouldn't mind spreading the word, that'd be helpful," Claire replied, her tone becoming rather nonchalant as Roku lightly chuckled.

"I assume you're here about The Avatar in the Mortal World?" Roku asked, getting straight to business.

"Yeah... Aang says I should seek a peaceful resolution, but I'm not sure if I can... Talos and I have never resolved fights peacefully, at least not of our own will," Claire explained whilst Roku thought for a moment.

"What I'm about to say may not be what you want to hear, but you must be decisive!" Roku told her as Claire rose an eyebrow to his statement.

"Could you, uh... elaborate?" Claire asked, hoping he would explain further.

"Talos has brought Chaos to the world, and he has tipped the balance. You must show him no quarter until you have restored the Avatar Cycle," Roku explained, Claire's heart sinking as his words echoed in her mind.

"Even if it means killing him?" Claire sombrely asked.

"I empathise with your plight, young Avatar. But you must ask yourself, What is more important? The life of one friend, or the lives of a thousand innocents?" Roku asked her, fading away into the flames which summoned him as Claire stumbled back, sitting down on a raised branch.

"Quite the predicament," Vaatu abruptly spoke as Claire let out a brief sigh.

"No kidding... Where would Kyoshi be?" Claire asked, scanning around the swamp.

"She may still live within the forests not too far from here," Vaatu informed her.

Claire stood up from her branch, striding out of the swamp towards a large forest in the distance.

After a quick journey, Claire arrived within the forest, scanning around the foliage and bamboo of various green hues, spying a golden crown-like object in the distance.

"Kyoshi!" Claire exclaimed, racing over to the object, but upon further inspection, she realised it was just a flower, frowning as her shoulders slumped.

"You called?" A voice spoke behind Claire, spooking her as she twisted around, flailing her arms whilst Kyoshi stood before her.

"For a seven-foot woman you sure are sneaky," Claire jested.

"I rarely get visitors, especially physically," Kyoshi replied, staring into Claire's eye with a steely gaze.

"You're here about the false Avatar, aren't you?" Kyoshi asked as Claire tilted her head with a perplexed stare.

"What, am I that obvious?" Claire asked with a smirk.

"It's written all over you," Kyoshi bluntly replied, causing Claire to awkwardly look away.

"Talos is a merciless warrior, we can feel every battle he partakes in, revelling in the chaos and rage that swirls through his body, coated with pride and malice..." Kyoshi explained as Claire raised an uneasy eyebrow.

"How do you think I should deal with him?" Claire asked, hoping for a good resolution.

"Talos has defiled the wish of the first Avatar and now spits on the balance of the world. You must end his reign before he can cause any more damage," Kyoshi explained as Claire briefly sighed, her shoulders slumping with her arms crossed once more.

"So... kill him?" Claire bluntly asked.

"He is your friend, only executed him as a last resort. But as long as you restore the cycle and the balance, do with him as you please," Kyoshi replied as she faded from view. Claire lightly shrugged as she gazed into the distance.

"Well... one more Avatar left," Claire spoke aloud as she gazed to the sky.

"Yes... Avatar Kuruk. As far as I know, he still hunts The Face Stealer," Vaatu replied.

"He's been hunting Koh for five hundred years?" Claire disbelievingly asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. Come, we must venture to the Realm of the Face Stealer if we hope to find him," Vaatu told her.

Claire softly nodded, carving a path towards the Realm of the Face Stealer.

Claire arrived before an ugly twisted tree stood across a bridge of separate stone platforms. A thick fog loomed beneath them and a large wolf spirit sat in the distance, the young avatar shivering all over.

"This place gives me the creeps..." Claire muttered as Vaatu appeared on her shoulder.

"You best abandon those 'creeps', for if we encounter the Face Stealer, any form of expression on your face will cause him to steal your face," Vaatu explained as Claire lightly winced.

"I'll keep that in mind," Claire replied as she marched through the Realm of the Face Stealer, hopping along the stone pillars, but as she did, the young avatar came across a man in water tribe attire laid down atop one of the platforms, lightly gasping before hopping over to him.

"I believe this is Avatar Kuruk!" Vaatu exclaimed as Claire knelt beside him, slowly grasping his shoulder and shaking him, but she received no response.

Claire's heart raced as slowly turned him onto his back, his head dangling before facing the sky, revealing to them that Koh had stolen his face.

Claire screamed and leapt back almost falling off the pillar, flailing her leg to get back on before pushing herself up with a blast of air, Claire's breath turned hysterical, her heart pounding as she gazed upon the faceless Kuruk laid silently on the pillar.

"Vaatu... any suggestions?" Claire asked as she quaked all over.

"We must take him back to solid ground. If we leave him here, he will undoubtedly fall into the fog, lost forever!" Vaatu explained as Claire nervously nodded, slowly getting control of her breath as she picked up the faceless Kuruk, quickly hopping back to the mainland and placing him against a rock.

"He's not, uh... dead, is he?" Claire uneasily asked.

"He exists somewhere between Life and Death," Vaatu replied as Claire turned her gaze to the twisted tree, then back to the faceless Kuruk.

"Is there a way to get his face back?" Claire asked, hoping Vaatu knew a way.

"I have a feeling your Spirit-Bending may work, but to do so... we will need to confront the Face Stealer," Vaatu told her as Claire winced, beginning her hop along across the stone pillars, eventually making it to the front of the Twisted Tree, taking a deep breath as she gazed into it.

"Remember... Emotions are prohibited," Vaatu reminded her, Claire slowly nodding as she walked into the Lair of the Face Stealer. Claire descended a set of stairs, keeping her wits about her.

"Koh, I know you're in here," Claire emotionlessly spoke, a soft scuttling radiating around the chamber, the young Avatar freezing on the spot.

"Relax, young Avatar," Vaatu whispered as Claire took a deep breath, descending deeper into the Lair, eventually finding herself in a large dark room.

Claire carefully observed her surroundings, but the longer she stood, the more something scurried around her, pressing her foot on the ground to sense the vibrations, but nothing came of it, and as she continued looking around, a giant centipede with a white face appeared before her.

"Welcome!" The giant centipede greeted her, Claire's muscles tensing before she relaxed, gazing at the Giant centipede's white face with an emotionless stare.

"I take it you are Koh?" Claire asked.

"Yes, how could you forget me?" Koh asked as he slithered around her, Claire's nerves standing on end.

"I have never met you, Koh," Claire replied, staying still as a statue.

"Oh, but you have! But not in this life," Koh told her, his white face blinking and changing into a woman's face with flowing black hair and amber eyes.

"I have come to request that you return the face of Avatar Kuruk," Claire cut right to the reason she was here.

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that," Koh nonchalantly replied as he continued slithering.

"You see, I've coveted his face for such a long time now, I can't possibly give it up. But you could always consult my dear mother for a new one," Koh recommended.

"I cannot go to the Mother of Faces," Claire replied, emotionless on the outside, but quaking in her boots on the inside.

"Then your precious Kuruk will be forever faceless," Koh taunted her, changing his face to Avatar Kuruk's, a face with a short beard, shoulder-length hair, and deep blue eyes.

"And it's better this way. Now he's together with his wife... forever," Koh added, but Claire began welling up within.

"Trapping them between a state of life and death forever... that's no way to live, just another way to die," Claire spoke, emotion beginning to creep through.

"You will return the face of Avatar Kuruk!" Claire determinedly proclaimed.

"You idiot..." Vaatu muttered as Claire's eyes widened, Koh chuckling to himself as his face disappeared, showing a black void.

"Any last words, Avatar?" Koh asked, his distorted voice echoing throughout the lair as Claire hesitantly smirked.

"You think this is going to be my last moment? My father trained me in the perfect technique for situations like this!" Claire heartily proclaimed, raising a finger to Koh's void.

"Oh, do tell," Koh Indulged her.

"Well first, it starts with the legs!" Claire explained, patting her thigh as Koh's head tilted.

"And with a quick pump of the arms, I RUN FOR MY LIFE!" Claire finished, shouting at the top of her lungs as she sprinted away from Koh, leaping out of his lair, but the face stealer gave chase.

"You knew the rules, Avatar! Your face is mine!" Koh distortedly roared as he slithered along the stone pillars.

"Nope! Not in a million years!" Claire shouted as she hopped across the pillars, returning to the mainland, but Koh ambushed her, appearing before her and lunging for her face, however, Claire ducked under him as he soared passed her, the young Avatar quickly pushing herself out from under him with a blast of air, seeing him slither back around to try to catch her once more, but as he came close, Claire's eyes glowed with a powerful white light.

"Enough!" Vaatu shouted, delivering a mighty punch to Koh's form, digging in Claire's feet as he crashed into her fist. Koh's white face returned, gazing upon Claire.

"Spirit of Order! And here I thought you and your sister were slumbering slaves to the Avatar," Koh taunted him.

"Taunt all you like Face Stealer, you will not have this Avatar's face!" Vaatu proclaimed, poised to strike.

"You know my rules, Vaatu!" Koh angrily told him.

"I know your rules, Face Stealer! But I will not allow you to defile the Avatars!" Vaatu adamantly replied whilst Koh glared at them.

"Fine, have it your way, Vaatu," Koh replied in a defeated tone.

"And know this Face Stealer. If you dare take the face of an Avatar, be they past, present or future, I will seal you away for all eternity where no mortal or spirit will ever find you!" Vaatu threatened him, but Koh merely chuckled.

"I can tell you're bluffing," Koh nonchalantly replied, but Vaatu marched towards Koh, looking him in the eyes, just inches from his face.

"Try me," Vaatu growled, Koh slowly turning away from Vaatu and slithering back to his hollow.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Vaatu exclaimed, outstretching Claire's hand as he summoned an ethereal tendril, wrapping it around Koh and dragging him back.

"You dare!" Koh exclaimed as Vaatu pulled his face back around to him, forcing The Face Stealer to change his face to Kuruk's, bringing Claire's other hand up and unleashing a second Tendril, attaching it to Kuruk's stolen face.

"No!" Koh spoke through the muffling of the spirit tendril as Vaatu ripped Kuruk's face from Koh, holding its spiritual energy.

"And now, for the other one," Vaatu spoke as he changed Koh's face to the face of Kuruk's wife, Ummi, latching a third tendril onto her face and ripping it out, bringing the two spiritual essences to Claire's hand as he released Koh from his grasp.

"Now begone, Face Stealer. And pray we never have to cross paths again," Vaatu threatened him.

"There will be a reckoning for this, Vaatu!" Koh breathlessly replied as he slowly slithered back to his Twisted Tree.

Vaatu walked over to Kuruk, pulling the spiritual essence to Claire's hand and bending it back into his form, the past Avatar's eyes fluttering open, groaning as he held hold his head.

"Rise, Avatar Kuruk," Vaatu told him as Kuruk slowly stumbled up with Vaatu helping him.

"Avatar... you sound a lot different from when we last met," Kuruk replied, curiously gazing at her.

"The Young Avatar is currently under my control. I am Vaatu, one half of the Avatar Spirit," Vaatu explained, Kuruk's eyes widening as Vaatu handed him the spiritual essence of Ummi.

"Go find your wife... and finally reunite with your beloved," Vaatu told her as an odd warmth coursed over Kuruk as he held the essence, a tear streaking out of his eye.

"You... got her back from Koh?" Kuruk disbelievingly asked.

"As well as you, yes. Now go," Vaatu replied, gesturing to the Spirit World.

Kuruk nodded, departing with the Spiritual essence as Vaatu released his hold of Claire, the young Avatar stumbling back and lightly gasping.

"Weren't we supposed to ask him for help?" Claire asked as she watched Kuruk depart.

"He was in no state for interrogation, besides. There are more Avatar's we can consult, ones much older and wiser," Vaatu explained as Claire brushed her clothes down.

"I'm surprised you were so... proficient in Spirit-Bending," Claire curiously replied.

"Even the vilest of arts have their upsides," Vaatu nonchalantly told her as Claire lightly scoffed, marching back into the Spirit World, intending to find her other past lives.


	7. Will of the Avatar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Khana, Sky, Lin and Ty Lee enter the Heart of Chaos, the final stand for the rag-tag team against the False Avatar begins

Khana glared up at The Heart of Chaos whilst Li and the now awakened Kya healed the wounded Team Avatar. Ty Lee approached Khana, silence looming over them as they both gazed upon it.

"Should we get going or do you want to wait?" Ty Lee asked, breaking the silence between them.

"We need to wait. Probe Fire Lord Zuko and the others for information about Talos, how he fights, what he's capable of," Khana coldly replied, arms crossed as her hairs stood on end. Ty Lee nodded, departing to check in on Team Avatar whilst Khana looked over to Kang's lab.

"Sky!" Khana called over, the mercenary curiously perking his head up.

"I need to go do something... I'll be right back," Khana told him as she ventured over to Kang's lab, Sky waving to her as she left.

Khana stood before the elevator door, pushing the pallet aside, opening the metal doors and marching in as the doors slid open.

The doors slid shut, descending into Kang's lab, the Kyoshi Warrior's stomach churning as she lightly grasped, keeping her balance and fondly smiling at the memory of her first time descending with Claire.

The elevator doors slid open, revealing Kang's dimly lit lab. The scent of fire and pickles still filling the air. Khana took a deep breath, striding in as the doors slid shut behind her, marching through to the hanger then to the small hut, pushing the door open and entering the guest room.

Khana knelt in front of a mirror, grasping three brushes and three pots, one filled with white face paint, another filled with red face paint, and the third one filled with black face paint.

She lightly grasped one brush, dipping it into the white paint, slowly twirling it around in the pot before lifting it out and applying the white face paint all over her before taking the second brush, deeply breathing before placing it in the red paint, twirling and lifting it from the pot, brushing it from the bridge of her nose, across her eyes and up to the side of her forehead.

Khana took the last pot, dipping the thin brush in, slowly lifting it out and applying a sleek black line on top of her red face paint, finishing her makeup. The Kyoshi Warrior determinedly looked at herself in the mirror.

 _"You have the choice to either wait for the Avatar, or to stand and fight in her name, be her will and avenge her"_ Zu's words echoed in her mind, deeply breathing as she looked into her pale blue eyes.

"I failed as your protector. But I swear I will take back the Avatar Spirit, no matter the cost," Khana adamantly spoke to the mirror before standing back up, exiting Kang's lab and returning to where everyone prepared for the battle to come.

Khana marched towards the group, seeing Team Avatar had recovered since their battle. Ty Lee and Suki turned to Khana, proudly smiling at her as she approached.

"Master Suki! How are you feeling?" Khana asked, briefly bowing to her as Suki took a deep breath.

"I've been better... Are you sure you're alright taking this guy on?" Suki asked, concern growing inside her as Khana slowly nodded.

"I need to do this... for Claire," Khana replied, clenching her fist as a tear grew in her eye.

Sky and Lin stood by Khana, looking to Team Avatar, the Governors and the White Lotus.

"If you can, we need to know everything you know about Talos," Lin asked them in a steely voice.

"He's fast... inhumanly fast," Jing replied, shuddering at the thought as Toph nodded.

"There's something weird about him... he cut me and Katara down just like that!" Toph added, snapping her fingers at the latter part of her explanation.

"Anything else?" Lin asked, observing everyone.

"His Blade-arm is susceptible to metal-bending," Ho Tun informed them, Lin smirking with a clenched fist.

"He's also able to go into the Avatar State at will..." Sokka added, wincing as Li healed his broken leg.

"Any more? Or is that it?" Sky asked them as everyone shook their heads.

"Aside from the obvious: four elements, super-powered, and over the top bravado, no," Hou replied. Khana, Sky, Lin and Ty Lee silently looked to one another before looking to the Heart of Chaos.

"Let's go," Khana commanded as the four set forth into the Heart of Chaos, Suki and Toph watching them depart.

"Good luck, Khana," Suki muttered.

"Don't go dying in there, Lin," Toph muttered.

Khana, Sky, Lin and Ty Lee continued their march, stepping into the Heart of Chaos.

The four marched across the bridge, catching the attention of Talos as they approached.

"Ah-ha! More entertainment!" Talos sarcastically greeted them as he stood up from his throne, raising his arms out to them, but the four silently stood before him, catching Talos off guard.

"What? Just going to stand there in brooding silence? Or does my overwhelming power just leave you speechless?" Talos gloated with a sinister grin.

"Quit your gloating, you overcompensating Bastard!" Lin sharply replied, raising her fists ready to fight.

"Oh! You wound me!" Talos jested, placing his hand to his chest as Khana withdrew her daggers and Sky withdrew his dual-swords whilst Ty Lee readied her fists.

"We're here for the Avatar Spirit! And we aren't leaving until we've taken it back!" Khana proclaimed as she raised a dagger to him.

"Oh please, you'll fall just like everyone else!" Talos proudly replied, lunging in towards Khana, but the Kyoshi Warrior smirked, throwing Talos off as she dodged, Sky raising his swords and trapping the Avatar's blade in between his own, the sound of the clanking metal reverberating as Ty Lee and Khana leapt in, striking the pressure points of Talos' arms whilst Lin leapt in from behind, slamming a slab of Obsidian onto Talos' back, but the obsidian crumbled around him as Talos weightlessly lifted into the air, swishing his legs around and unleashing a powerful blast of air, knocking the two ladies back but Sky stood his ground, his swords becoming imbued with the power of the air.

"Round two?" Sky jested with a smirk, Talos smirking back as the Ex-Mercenary released his blade arm, the two swinging and cleaving at each other whilst the ladies recovered.

Lin stood back up, punching up an obsidian boulder, propelling it at Talos, but detecting her rise, the Avatar leapt out of the way as the boulder continued towards Sky, but with a quick block of the blades, the boulder turned to dust around Sky as his swords became imbued with the power of the earth.

Sky looked to Talos as a cunning thought came to his mind.

"Hey, Talos! You've got quite the ego, haven't you?" Sky taunted him, raising his blades to the side and leaving himself wide open, but Talos raised a quizzical eyebrow to him, as did Lin and the recovered Khana and Ty Lee.

"What are you getting at, Swordsman?" Talos bewilderingly asked.

"You know, your ego! 'Ooh, look at me, I'm the Avatar! I'm all-powerful because I can shoot fire and throw water around!' well you're not the only one who can do that," Sky continued, giving Talos a cheeky grin as he did.

The Avatar curiously observed Sky's swords, looking into the Ex-Mercenary's grey eyes as Sky chuckled, shaking the swords as he did.

"Bet you're just dying to find out what these can do with all four elements, aren't you?" Sky taunted him more, and as he hoped, Talos' ego got the better of him, striking out a stream of fire and torrent of water towards Sky, infusing his swords with the powers of fire and water.

Sky's eyes turned to a pale white as he ascended into the air, swinging his swords and bringing down a slash of all four elements, surprising Talos as he quickly raised an obsidian wall, the wall crumbling lightly as the slashes struck.

Sky descended to the ground, rushing in and piercing through the obsidian, his blade just glancing at Talos' face as the Obsidian wall shattered.

Sky continued his assault whilst Khana, Ty Lee and Lin joined in, with every swing of Talos' blade, Lin pulled it away from Sky, creating openings whilst Khana bent the earth in her daggers to slash and chop into Talos' flesh as Ty Lee relentlessly struck his pressure points.

The Ex-Mercenary loomed over Talos, his blades poised to impale him, sweat breaking out all over the Avatar before his eyes turned pitch black.

"This is not my limit!" Talos shouted, emitting a shock-wave of air, throwing everyone back as he ascended into the air.

Talos dashed in at a mighty pace, bringing his blade down on Sky, but the Ex-Mercenary raised his swords and clashed with Talos', swiftly kicking Talos' gut, knocking the air out of the Avatar before unleashing a slash of flame.

Talos parted the wave of flame, trying to engage on Sky once more, but a slab of Obsidian smashed into him, knocking him off balance, and before he could regain his balance, Khana threw a dagger towards his back, impaling his shoulder, wincing forward as Sky's blades loomed over him once more.

" _I can't take out this swordsman just yet... I need to take the others out first..."_ Talos thought as he weightlessly drifted away from Sky's blade, standing in the centre of the battle, the four inching closer to him.

Talos looked towards Lin and Ty Lee, sizing them up like a predator before leaping in towards Ty Lee, viciously striking her gut, cracking her armour and knocking the wind out of her, Talos quickly grappled her face, pulling her up and mercilessly smashing her into the ground.

"Master Ty Lee!" Khana exclaimed as she rushed in at Talos, but as he rose from the smashing, he lunged at the Khana, kicking the Kyoshi Warrior's chest and splitting her armour, blasting her back into the interior of the Heart of Chaos.

"Wait your turn!" Talos taunted her as he looked to Lin.

The Avatar viciously dashed in at Lin, slashing at her with his blade arm, but she met it with sturdy defences of obsidian, blocking and parrying his strikes before pulling an obsidian gauntlet to her fist and delivering a mighty punch to his gut.

Talos stumbled back as Sky leapt in to help, slashing into Talos, but as he did the power of the elements slowly faded, and Sky's eyes returned to normal.

"All out of power, are you?" Talos taunted, his pitch-black eyes glaring into Sky's soul as he smirked. Talos pulled obsidian to his fist, mercilessly punching into Sky's chest, cracking his ribs and breaking the obsidian gauntlet, snatching the Ex-Mercenary's shirt and pulling him in.

Lin rushed in, hoping to help Sky, but the Avatar viciously slammed his head into Sky's, slamming him into Lin and knocking the Police chief down before throwing him over to Ty Lee.

Sky's head rung like a church bell before he passed out, Lin glaring at Talos as she pulled herself back up.

"One old chi-blocker, an uppity Kyoshi Warrior, a Police chief and a knock-off Avatar... you're certainly the most diverse group to come in here," Talos taunted.

"We're not done yet!" Lin snarled, clenching her fists.

"I'm getting payback for Kang, Avatar or not, I'll make you submit!" Lin growled, punching out chunks of Obsidian at Talos, but he brushed them aside whilst the police chief bent Talos' Obsidian throne, up hurling it at him with ferocious force.

Talos chuckled and punched into the Obsidian throne, turning it to dust around himself, but as the dust clouded his vision, Lin leapt in drifting through the air and kicking Talos' face, knocking him to the floor as Lin smashed her fist into the Obsidian ground, rocking the foundations and throwing Talos off his balance, but to Lin's surprise, Talos weightlessly drifted into the air, bringing his blade arm down on her.

But she took control of the blade arm, bending it away from her and pulling Talos into the ground, dragging him along the ground then flinging him into the air, smashing him into the Crystal interior. Talos growled in pain as Lin mercilessly dragged him along, finishing by lifting him high into the air and slamming him down to the ground, the Obsidian Bridge cracking as Talos lay there motionless.

Lin smirked before cautiously approaching him, her breath ragged and limbs shaking.

The Police Chief lightly kicked Talos, receiving no response as she smiled to herself, bending up a sharp piece of obsidian and stabbing it into the Avatar's head with a mighty cry, but Talos' form slowly faded away, and Lin's heart skipped a beat, pressing her foot against the ground and feeling a presence behind her, swiftly twisting around and kicking out at the presence, but her foot didn't make contact, and a sinister chuckle filled the swirling air.

"Where are you!?" Lin shouted.

"I'm here!" Talos told her as Lin looked to her right, seeing an ominous figure.

"And here!" Talos told her as Lin looked to her left, seeing another ominous figure.

"What in the world!?" Lin exclaimed as four ominous figures began circling her, the wind rushing around her like a tornado.

"I am everywhere!" Talos proudly proclaimed, appearing before Lin and delivering a mighty uppercut to her jaw, racking her brain and throwing her into unconsciousness. The Avatar gleefully grinning.

"What was that about 'making me submit'?" Talos taunted the unconscious Lin before marching back over to where his throne used to be, pulling up another one before facing the fallen four.

"And that should be the last of you, it has been fun you lot, but now I must bid you farewell!" Talos told them, bending the air around the four.

But Khana dug her fingers into the Obsidian, holding on with all her strength as Sky, Ty Lee and Lin hovered before Talos, unleashing a howling gale and launching them from the Heart of Chaos.

The three flew out of the entrance as Zu and Hou quickly ran in, propelling themselves into the air.

Zu caught Sky and Ty Lee, whilst Hou caught Lin, the two landing on the ground whilst everyone else sceptically looked at them.

"Where's... Khana?" Suki asked, a lump growing in her throat as Zu and Hou looked up to the air, then gazing to the Heart of Chaos.

"She's still in there..." Zu exclaimed.

Khana forced herself back up, marching over to stand before Talos, but he gave her no notice, sitting down upon his throne.

"This battle is over. Now leave," Talos told her, disinterested in Khana, However, with a thrust of her fists, Khana pulled up a chunk of obsidian, blasting it at Talos, but the Avatar caught it in his hand, stopping it dead in its tracks and tossing it away.

"You people are insufferably dimwitted. You try and try, despite the clear gap in power. Do you all have a death wish?" Talos taunted her as Khana raised her fists to Talos.

"I'm taking back the Avatar Spirit, even if it kills me!" Khana growled, tightly clenching her fists as Talos shook his head.

"So be it, but you will die a fool!" Talos taunted her, raising his blade arm to her.

Khana smashed her foot into the obsidian, raising her arms, pulling up four boulders of Obsidian, and with fiery kicks and punches, she hurled the boulders at Talos, but the Avatar hopped over them, leaping and diving towards Khana, striking her shoulder and shattering her Pauldron, followed by slicing down on her other shoulder, Severing her second Pauldron.

Khana stumbled back whilst Talos continued his assault, coating his blade in violet fire and bringing it down on her, however, the Kyoshi Warrior rushed in, grappling his torso and picking him up, slamming him on the ground, the violet fire dissipating whilst Talos' head rung, but with burning rage, Khana grasped Talos by his shirt, dragging him up like a rag doll, briefly letting go and grappling the sides of his head, slamming her knee into his face.

Talos stumbled back, grasping his face as Khana roared, striking out with fiery punches, bending the obsidian in front of Talos, striking him with curved obsidian stalagmites, hammering his pressure points with ruthless vigour. Talos fell, his arms and legs going limp as he collapsed against his throne. Khana gazed at the fallen Talos, slowly regaining her breath and approaching him, daggers drawn. the Kyoshi Warrior pierced his shirt and picked him up by the dagger.

"Now, hand over the Avatar Spirit," Khana growled, but Talos simply swayed in her grasp like a puppet, a laugh radiating around her as Khana's heart skipped a beat, the Talos she held fading away.

"What the-" Khana exclaimed, looking up to see Talos stood atop his throne, his hand to his hip whilst his blade arm dangled.

"I admit your attacks hurt, but threatening an after-image is useless!" Talos told her, leaping down from his throne, kicking out and striking Khana's chest, her breastplate shattering entirely.

Khana fell back as Talos formed an obsidian gauntlet around his hand, smashing into Khana and flinging her like a rag doll towards the bridge.

Khana spat out a glob of blood, her body aching all over, but despite the pain, she stood back up, rising to her feet once more and glaring at Talos. The Avatar looked at her, stumbling over his words.

"Beaten and broken, and yet you still fight... why?" Talos asked, genuine confusion washing over him.

"Because I... am the protector of the Avatar... The _real_ Avatar," Khana painfully proclaimed, straightening her posture, "I failed in keeping her safe, and now I'm going to do my utmost to make up for that," She added through her ragged breath, but Talos mockingly laughed at her.

"You're doing all this for Claire?" Talos asked, raising a hand and eyebrow to her statement.

"I took an oath to protect the Avatar! And I will see it through to the end, I _will_ take back the Avatar spirit!" Khana proclaimed, clenching her fists as she glared at Talos.

"Then you will die in your arrogance!" Talos shouted, bending the obsidian to his will, the heat of the room escalating as the obsidian before him transformed into lava, a massive wall of lava shot up, obscuring Talos from Khana's view as she let out a sharp gasp, her heart skipping a beat.

"Farewell, Kyoshi Warrior!" Talos shouted as he launched the wall of lava towards Khana.

The wave of lava encroached on Khana, sweat breaking all over her as memories began flashing before her eyes, the time she became an earth-bender, the time she spent with Suki and Ty Lee, the day she met Claire, the time Claire help her on her way to being a lava-bender, and the day she confessed her love to her, the Lava stood inches from her as a final memory echoed in her mind.

" _Remember Kyoshi Warriors! Never be afraid to look the Spirit of Death in the eye and say-"_ Suki's words echoed in Khana's mind, a determined fiery look of coming over the Kyoshi Warrior's face as the base of her spine twinged.

"NOT TODAY!" Khana shouted, punching out her fists, arching them down and bending the lava to her side, the sheer force and flames of the lava's passing, lightly burnt her robes and the hair tie, allowing her amber hair to flow freely.

Talos gawked, hesitantly laughing as he saw Khana proudly stand before him, the burning embers of her robes flicking against her skin as she clutched the material on the shoulder.

"Sorry, Kyoshi. But this is going to get in the way," Khana sombrely spoke, shredding her robe from her body, revealing her lean biceps and chiselled abs as well as her breasts and upper torso wrapped in bandages. Talos lightly chuckled as Khana raised her fists to him, the lava cooling around her.

"Time to turn up the heat, Talos!" Khana proclaimed, her second-wind burning within as she threw herself at Talos, slamming her fist into the obsidian ground, bending it to Lava and launching her own wave of lava at him.

Talos gritted his teeth, parting the lava to his side, but Khana leapt in further, daggers poised to strike, using the lava as cover. The Kyoshi Warrior impaled Talos, stabbing his shoulders and viciously ripping them out as the Avatar snarled, the Kyoshi Warrior intending to slice him open. But Talos quickly parried her following attacks with his blade arm, knocking her attacks aside and kicking her away.

Khana quickly regained her balance, sweeping her leg along the ground and kicking up another wave of Lava, righting herself as she stood back up, punching the ground once more and unleashing several violent eruptions at Talos, but Talos weaved through the erupting pillars, bearing the heat as he made his way to Khana, looming over her and bringing his blade down upon her, but Khana snagged his blade with her dagger, using her free hand to unleash a stalagmite of obsidian aimed at his chest, Talos grimaced before weightlessly drifting away from the attack, quickly leaping back in.

Talos loomed over Khana once more, but she struck out her fist, releasing an eruption of lava beneath him, engulfing the Avatar in the lava, Talos wailed in agony as Khana smirk, but to her surprise, he launched himself from the erupting lava, diving into the water.

The entire pool of water emitted a radiant, ominous black light, and as Khana gazed upon it, her vision turned hazy, and before she knew it, Talos emerged from the water, burning scars coating his body.

Talos' eyes glowed pitch black as he rushed in towards Khana, clashing blades once more and smacking her daggers aside, the Avatar pulled the water out from by the bridge, dowsing Khana then freezing her on the spot, following up with a vicious kick of violet flames, destroying the ice and knocking Khana back, the Kyoshi Warrior almost collapsing, but she persevered, pushing herself back up and punching her fist out, unleashing a violent eruption of Lava, but Talos swiftly bent the surrounding air, rapidly cooling the lava and turning it to Obsidian before smashing through it, bending up small pieces of obsidian, melting them into lava then firing them at Khana like bullets.

Khana bent the lava away from her, but try as she might, the lava struck and scorched her body the pain slowly overwhelming her, and as Talos ceased, her vision began spiralling, seeing Talos weave his blade around, the currents of air coursing around her up to him. Khana took a final breath, letting out a mighty roar and striking out her fist, causing an eruption of almost unparalleled might, destroying Talos' throne and his waterfall as the lava shot up towards him, surrounding Khana as the heat weighed down on her.

Talos stopped his attack, letting the wind loose upon the lava, cooling it into obsidian, and as he did, Khana looked up at him, her legs finally buckling as she collapsed onto her stomach, falling into unconsciousness.

The black of Talos' eyes faded as he bent the freshly made obsidian back to whence it came, reforging his throne and waterfall before gazing at Khana, rolling the Kyoshi Warrior onto her back, picking her up by the bandages on her chest.

"Protector or not... you fought with a vigour I have yet to see... it couldn't have been just that which drove you..." Talos spoke to the unconscious Khana, carefully observing her.

"Could it be that you're..." Talos muttered, his eyes widening as he chuckled to himself.

"Oh, Claire!" Talos laughed, but his amusement slowly stopped as he looked to the blade arm, then to Khana.

Talos slowly raised the blade towards her neck, his pupils contracting as it inched ever closer, but he let out a sharp gasp, lowering his blade arm as he looked at Khana.

"No... killing her would break Claire's spirit... even if her existence is something I cannot accept if we are to battle, I want it to be like old times... I will not harm her any more than I already have," Talos lamented, releasing Khana from his grasp, swiftly breaking her fall with a gust of wind, raising her up as the air began coursing around her.

"Know this, Kyoshi Warrior. This mercy is for Claire's sake, not yours!" Talos sombrely proclaimed before unleashing a howling gale, launching Khana from the Heart of Chaos and out to everyone.

Zu looked up, seeing Khana fly from the Heart of Chaos, swiftly launching himself into the air and catching her, slamming back down to the ground as Suki ran over to him.

Zu slowly turned around, showing her the beaten and broken Khana, her master gasping as she looked at her.

"Li! Kya! Katara! She needs you!" Zu shouted, the three water-benders quickly rushing over whilst Zu raised an earthen bed, laying her down for the three to heal her.

Toph pushed her feet to the ground, feeling for the vibrations of Khana's heart, lowering her head and letting out a heavy sigh before gazing to Suki.

"This isn't good... she's going to need something better than regular water healing!" Li exclaimed as he continued running the water up and down Khana's body.

"We can't get Spirit Water, that's all the way up in the North Pole!" Katara exclaimed whilst everyone worryingly looked at Khana. But as they did, Tenzin could hear something land behind them, and after a few seconds, Toph's eyes widened.


	8. Wind and Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kang's Air-bending training begins, but will the mad inventor manage to grasp the art?

Kang and Eamon stood before the elder at the centre of the air ball pit, the sounds of the Air Clan playing and training filled with air whilst the scent of lavender flowed through the chamber.

"A Fire nation Prince wanting to learn Air-bending... I never thought I'd see the day," the elder told them as he looked Kang up and down.

"Do you have a name we can call you?" Kang asked, lightly shrugging his arms.

"My name is Yorru," The Elder told them as Kang and Eamon slowly nodded.

"What's the first lesson going to be?" Kang asked, eager to get started as Yorru gestured to the Airball pit.

"A good old-fashioned game of Airball!" Yorru proclaimed, Kang raising an eyebrow before looking to a shrugging Eamon.

"Alright... Airball," Kang replied as Yorru invited the mad inventor onto the slender poles.

Kang leapt onto them, carefully balancing members of the Air Clan quizzically looked at him.

"Elder, why are you allowing this Fire Nation scum into our game!?" An Air Clansman asked.

"Curb your tongue, Re Tou! The war—from what these outsiders have told me—ended long ago. We need not fear the Fire Nation any longer," Yorru replied, the Air Clansman glaring at Kang as he waved to them, but a stray female Air Clansman approached the mad inventor, hair partially covered the back of her head, and she wore orange and yellow monk robes.

"Don't mind them. The elders taught us to fear the Fire Nation and kill them on sight... and you being a Fire Nation Prince has them on edge," The Air Clansman informed Kang.

"I only found out I was a Prince last week," Kang nonchalantly replied, surprising the Air Clansman.

"Well, I'm Ku Tou, it's nice to meet you!" The Air Clansman greeted him, extending her hand out to Kang.

"And I'm Kang, a Fire-bending Inventor!" Kang replied as he shook Ku-Tou's hand whilst Yorru looked to Eamon, the shadow-bender's arms crossed in a slouched posture.

"Are you not joining in?" Yorru asked, catching Eamon off guard.

"I think I've learnt enough bending styles for one life," Eamon replied in a melancholy manner.

Kang and the Air Clansmen broke into two teams, beginning their game of Airball, leaping between poles and striking the ball, bouncing it between the members of each team, the Air Clansmen woefully outclassed Kang, but he kept his balance atop the poles whilst darting across them, surprising Yorru.

Re Tou lined up a shot towards Kang as he leapt onto a pole, striking the ball with a ferocious kick.

"Kang, on your left!" Ku Tou shouted as Kang looked to his left, the ball smacking his upper chest and knocking him from the pole, but as he fell, Eamon opened up a portal beneath Kang, briefly transporting him to the Shadow Realm before reopening the portal next to him, causing Kang to fall out and into Eamon's grasp.

"You okay?" Eamon asked as he supported Kang.

"Yeah... one of these Air-benders just smashed the ball into me," Kang winced, looking around to see Re Tou smirking at him.

Yorru grimaced at the Re Tou, leaping onto the poles, intending to teach him a lesson, but to his surprise, Ku Tou blasted the hot-headed air clansman off his pole with a howling gale, throwing him down into the pits.

"Ku Tou!" Yorru shouted, surprising her as she twisted around to look at him.

"Nice hit!" Yorru added with a smile, Ku Tou smirking before the Elder returned to the platform Kang and Eamon stood on.

"I must say, Prince. You moved... adequately well for a Fire-bender," Yorru commented on his performance.

"Well... I had an Air-bending friend teach me some moves," Kang replied as Yorru gave him a quizzical stare.

"We have a friend who can... 'switch' personalities and bending styles," Eamon nonchalantly explained, but Yorru became even more confused.

"The world has changed much since our time in the Air Mountain it seems," Yorru replied, sauntering off into the mountain.

Kang and Eamon pursued him up a staircase which spiralled up the mountain. Small plots of farmland built within the mountain stood off to the sides of the spiralling stairway, with large holes above them to allow sun and moonlight into the farm plots. The three walked past statues of past Air-bending Masters, some ancient and others more recent until they reached a small stone chamber near the peak of the mountain.

"If you are to become an Air-bender, you must bolster your spirituality. Air-bending is much more than just fancy footwork after all," Yorru told him, leaping into the air, crossing his legs and breaking his fall with a gust of wind. Kang nodded, slowly sitting down before Yorru whilst Eamon leaned against the walls of the chamber.

"Take a deep breath, and let your mind empty," Yorru told him as he and Kang repeated what he said to do, causing the two to go into their meditation.

Hours passed by, Eamon had fallen asleep, snoozing next to the wall whilst the two meditated, but as they did, two misty forms began emerging from Kang and Yorru, their spirits departing from their body whilst the elder's spirit looked at Kang's in shocked awe.

"You're just a natural at everything, aren't you?" Yorru sarcastically asked.

"What? The Avatar did this during her first meditation session. Is this not normal?" Kang asked as he looked at his spiritual self.

"This is a technique that only the spiritually connected can pull off! It would make sense for the Avatar, but some Fire Nation Prince? Absurd!" Yorru replied in his tone mildly offended tone whilst Kang thought to himself.

"Hmm... could be because of my recent trip to the Spirit World?" Kang suggested, offending Yorru even further.

"You went _to_ the Spirit World? How?" Yorru asked, offended but curious.

"Spirit Portal," Kang nonchalantly replied whilst Yorru bewilderingly stared.

"You know, if Spirits could faint, I think mine would," Yorru replied in an unimpressed manner, an uncontrollable smirk coming over Kang as a silence loomed over the two.

"Well... anywhere you want to go? Or do you just want to continue your training?" Yorru curiously asked.

"Well... I haven't been able to see my friends for a while, perhaps I could go see how they're doing?" Kang asked, hoping Yorru would be alright with it.

"Very well, focus on the energy of a person you have a powerful bond with, and transport your spirit to their location. Keep in mind though, if they don't have a spiritual connection, they won't be able to see you," Yorru explained as Kang nodded, closing his eyes and focusing on Lin within Republic City, his spirit flickering before disappearing entirely.

Kang's spirit appeared in front of the Heart of Chaos, seeing Khana, Lin, Ty Lee and Sky stood before it, all four looking up, fear toiling in their eyes. Kang turned around, floating upwards to see the Heart of Chaos in all its dreadful glory.

"Sweet Fire Buns!" Kang exclaimed, but as he did Tenzin began sceptically looking around.

"Are you alright, Tenzin?" Bumi asked with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"I'm pretty sure I just heard someone say 'Sweet Fire Buns'," Tenzin replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I think that False Avatar hit you in the head a little too hard," Kya jested as Sokka lightly smacked his lips.

"Although now that you mention it, I could go for some Fire Buns right now," Sokka hungrily replied.

"Me too! I'll go raid the bakery!" Zu replied as he charged off towards the bakery whilst Toph shook her head.

"He never changes," Toph muttered with a smirk as Li grinned at her comment, continuing his healing. Kang drifted back down to Khana, Lin, Ty Lee and Sky, worryingly looking at them.

"Let's not push ourselves too hard..." Sky told them as he entered, but Khana scoffed at him.

"We're getting the Avatar Spirit back no matter what!" Khana replied whilst Ty Lee followed her in.

"He's right though, Khana. We don't want to go dying," Ty Lee replied as Lin remained quiet, looking up at the Heart of Chaos, swallowing her dread before stepping in, passing through Kang's spirit as she entered, an odd warmth catching her off guard as she let out a slowly sharp gasp, catching the attention of the other three.

"Are you okay, Lin?" Ty Lee asked whilst the three looked at her, but Lin slowly nodded.

"I'm fine... just... felt something strange when I entered," Lin replied, quizzically looking behind her before following the others in Kang's spirit fondly smiling at her.

"Good luck, Lin," Kang told her, his spirit flickering before disappearing once more.

Kang reappeared before Yorru, smiling at him as Yorru smirked back, the two returning to their bodies and reawakening within their mortal forms.

"Thank you, Yorru!" Kang told him, bowing his head to him before the two stood back up.

"Come, Prince. We still have to forge you into an Air-bender!" Yorru replied with a smile before marching out of the room, lightly kicking Eamon and startling him awake.

"What did I miss?" Eamon asked as he sat up, looking at Kang offering him a hand up.

"Just some spiritual stuff," Kang replied with a smile as he pulled his friend up, following Yorru out of the chamber.

Eamon lightly shrugged, chasing after Kang and Yorru, passing by the statues and farms once more, the lavender scent hitting their senses once again as Yorru guided them to a small training ground.

Yorru invited Kang and Eamon to the centre, the two standing against each other as they quizzically looked at Yorru.

"In the old days of Air-bending, its primary use was defence, but as you know it had to undergo drastic changes," Yorru explained as Kang and Eamon nodded.

"But despite the changes, we cannot alter the pacifistic roots of Air-bending, so you must learn to evade, flow like the wind away from Shadow Man's attacks, feel the air course around you. And do not fight back," Yorru explained further as Kang and Eamon looked to each other with brief smirks.

"At least I know I'll keep my head this time," Eamon jested as he raised his fists.

Kang smiled at him as Yorru backed away, signalling them to begin. Eamon launched his fist forward with magnificent speed, but Kang flowed away from it, the fist just barely missing his face as the Shadow-bender went to sweep the mad inventor's legs. But he jumped over the attack, smirking at Eamon.

Kang and Eamon circled around one another, Eamon with his fists raised whilst Kang sauntered around with his hands behind his back, the Shadow-bender lunged forward, kicking out as Kang evaded once more, gracefully flowing away whilst Eamon kept up his assault, charging and striking at the mad inventor whilst he evaded, but the more his friend persisted, the more Kang stumbled, feeling the urge to fight back, teetering on the edge of the small arena, glaring at Eamon and pushing out his palm, unleashing a small blast of air, knocking Eamon off his balance whilst Kang pushed himself away from the edge.

"Kang... I think you just did Air-bent," Eamon told him as Kang sceptically looked at his hand.

"He's correct... although it could've been just a fluke," Yorru replied, shrugging at them as Kang looked at Eamon with a determined gaze.

"Let's keep going," Kang told him.

The two would practise for several minutes more, but as they did, a chill ran down Kang's spine, catching Eamon's punch in his hand as he looked down at the ground, the Shadow-bender and Elder looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Is everything alright there, Prince?" Yorru asked, but Kang shook his head.

"I think... I really need to get back to Republic City..." Kang told them, Eamon and Yorru looked at one another then back to Kang.

"You haven't finished your Air-bending training yet... I don't even know if you can properly do it yet," Yorru told him.

Kang released Eamon's fist, looking down at himself with worry whilst Yorru thought to himself, inviting Kang over to the centre of the arena. Kang walked over, standing within the centre whilst Yorru stood to his side.

"We air-benders learn to feel the energy of the wind, not just the breeze on our skin. You must be one with that energy. Use your chi to bend the wind to your will," Yorru explained, twirling his hand as a slow breeze gusted behind Kang.

"Do you feel the wind at your back, Prince?" Yorru asked as Kang slowly nodded.

"Now... bend it, you've pulled off the fancy footwork, the avoid and evade, even taking control of your own Spirit. Now don't go disappointing me," Yorru told him as Kang took a slow breath, raising his open palms.

Kang lightly squatted, his chi coursing through his body, Yorru ceasing the breeze as Kang struck his palm out, letting loose a blast of wind, a grin of glee coming over his face.

"And with that, you're an Air-bender. Albeit a novice," Yorru told him as Kang turned around to the Elder, looking at his tingling hand.

"Thank you, Yorru!" Kang bowed to him as the elder nodded before looking at the two.

"I suppose you'll be needing a ride back to this 'Republic City'?" Yorru asked as Kang nodded, lowering his hand to his side.

Yorru guided them towards a large enclosure near the base of the mountain where a small herd of Sky Bison lived. Yorru placed his thumb and index finger into his mouth, whistling to one of the Sky Bison.

"Tuan! Come here, girl!" Yorru called over to a Sky Bison, making one of the older looking Sky Bison raise its head, lowly gruffing, before walking over to Yorru.

Yorru quickly handed Kang an apple he had hidden in his sleeve.

"Give that to Tuan," Yorru whispered as the Sky bison loomed over them.

Kang slowly approached Tuan with the apple in his prosthetic hand, giving it to the Sky Bison.

"Here you go!" Kang happily told her as Tuan sniffed the apple before lightly pinching it from Kang's hand.

"Now Tuan, I want you to take this Prince back to Republic City, is that clear?" Yorru asked as Tuan gave a low grumble.

Yorru looked to Kang, gesturing for him to jump on. Kang climbed aboard Tuan, looking down to Yorru and Eamon.

"Are you coming, Eamon?" Kang asked as he grabbed the reins attached to Tuan's horns.

"I'm afraid not, Kang. The Earth Kingdom's in disarray and I need to do everything I can to help," Eamon replied as Kang smiled at him.

"Good Luck, Eamon!" Kang told him as Eamon smiled back before opening a portal and leaping through it, departing from the Air Mountain.

"Now, to make Tuan fly, you need to say the words 'Yip-Yip'... It's one of the few things we can say that Sky Bison understand," Yorru replied as he stroked Tuan's fur.

"Alright!" Kang replied, nodding as he prepared to set off.

"Feel free to come back to finish your training any time, Prince. And if we're not here... check the Air Temples," Yorru told him as Kang smiled.

"I'll come back sometime... but for now," Kang replied, looking down Tuan's head.

"Tuan! Yip-Yip!" Kang commanded as Tuan set off into the air, flying through the Skylight at the top of their enclosure, beginning their journey to Republic City.


	9. Weight of the Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The task of keeping balance weighs heavily upon the Avatar, leading her to make a decision she never thought she'd make

Claire swiftly marched away from the Realm of the Face Stealer, finding herself back in the forest where she met Kyoshi, seeing a large stone in the distance, approaching and perching herself atop the stone, picking her leg off the floor and resting her arms atop her knee, letting out a heavy sigh as she gazed into the distance whilst a small Vaatu appeared on her shoulder.

"We should keep moving, Avatar. Talos may not wait long for us," Vaatu urged her, but Claire remained silent, surprising Vaatu.

"You're oddly quiet... is something wrong?" Vaatu asked her as she let out a disgruntled sigh.

"My past lives are telling me to kill my friend, and the worst part is... I kind of agree with them!" Claire exclaimed, placing her hands to her head in frustration.

"We cannot kill him," Vaatu explained, surprising Claire as she looked to the tiny Vaatu on her shoulder.

"... Come again?" Claire asked, raising an eyebrow to Vaatu.

"If Talos dies, then Raava will be forced to continue the Avatar Cycle, so she must sustain his life until we can take her back" Vaatu began explaining.

"Couldn't Raava just come back to me if he dies?" Claire sceptically asked.

"That is not how Avatar Kaishi's wish works. We are restricted to the cycle of Fire, Air, Water and Earth," Vaatu explained as Claire leant back on her stone.

"Talk about a confusing wish," Claire groaned as the tiny Vaatu sat next to her on the stone.

"It is what it is, young avatar... although we don't have to kill your friend to reclaim Raava, we must prepare for anything," Vaatu told her, breaking Claire's attention from the sky.

"But if I don't need to kill him... why should I prepare for it?" Claire curiously asked.

"After we take back Raava... there's no telling what may happen," Vaatu dauntingly replied as a brief silence loomed over them for a moment.

"Come, Avatar. We should seek guidance from more of your past lives before we make our return," Vaatu recommended.

Claire slowly nodded, standing up from her stone and walking away, returning to the mountains where she met Aang, scaling up the earthy mountains once more, reaching the peak and curiously inspecting her surroundings, spotting a floating man atop the tallest peak of the mountains.

"Is that one of my past lives?" Claire asked, pointing to the floating man. Vaatu inspected him, observing the man as he floated weightlessly atop the peak.

"I dare say, that's Avatar Laghima!" Vaatu exclaimed, recognising the man.

"I thought it was Guru Laghima?" Claire curiously asked.

"Yes, he was an Avatar we picked some four thousand years ago, but he is one of the Avatars who rejected the role, seeking to detach himself from the world and become a Guru instead," Vaatu lamented in an annoyed tone.

"Do you think he can teach me anything?" Claire asked as she lightly gestured to him.

"He can teach you something alright," Vaatu replied, looking over to Laghima

"LIKE HOW TO BE AN UTTER FAILURE OF AN AVATAR!" Vaatu angrily shouted as Claire jerked her head back from Vaatu, looking at him with a bewildered curiosity.

"I take it you don't like him..." Claire replied in a melancholy manner.

"No, Raava and I detested those who forsook Avatar Kaishi's wish. But you are correct... he can teach you one thing," Vaatu replied, his tone going from annoyed to begrudging whilst Claire nudged him to tell her.

"He might teach you how to unlock the ability of flight," Vaatu mumbled, detesting the thought of going to visit him.

"Flight... that could be useful," Claire replied, taking a short crouch and sprinting towards the edge of the peak as Vaatu faded back into her.

Claire leapt from the peak, unleashing jets of fire from her feet and propelling herself over to Guru Laghima, eventually safely landing atop Laghima's peak, a small staircase standing before her.

"Good thing Kang taught me that one," Claire told herself with a smirk, letting out a heavy sigh and looking to the ground as she thought, but she shook her head, focusing on the task before her.

Claire ascended the stairs, coming face-to-face with Guru Laghima, a wrinkly bald man with master air-bender tattoos coursing over his body. Red, yellow and maroon monk robes adorned his body, but his right arm remained uncovered, and wooden beads dangled around his neck.

"Uh... hello? Guru Laghima, is it?" Claire greeted him. Laghima opened his eyes, adjusting to his surroundings and looking down at Claire with a raised eyebrow.

"What brings a woman of the water tribe to my peak?" Laghima asked in a raspy, wizened voice.

"I'm the Avatar!" Claire informed him, lighting a fire in her palm to prove it to him, but Laghima blankly stared at her, closing his eyes once more.

"Ah, Avatars... slaves to the world," Laghima dismissively replied, the Guru's words taking aback Claire as she raised an eyebrow to him.

"'Slaves to the world'? The Avatars are born to maintain balance," Claire replied, crossing her arms.

"Exactly my point, girl. You Avatars are born and raised as slaves to learn the four elements and fight the battles of those too cowardly to do so themselves," Laghima told her in a melancholy tone as he reopened his eyes, Claire's arms dropping as she looked away for a moment before shifting her gaze back to Laghima.

"Well... someone has to do it, don't they? Avatar Kaishi wished for there to always be an arbiter of balance in the world!" Claire argued her point, but Laghima lightly scoffed.

"Why should an ancient relic of times long past influence the events of today?" Laghima asked.

"You're one to talk," Claire sharply replied, causing Laghima to raise an eyebrow to her.

"Begone from my peak, girl. You are but a waste of air within this thinly veiled space," Laghima told her in a disinterested tone, closing his eyes once more as Claire let out a begrudging sigh before walking away.

"So much for learning how to fly," Claire told herself as she sauntered down the staircase, wearily looking out to the clouds below her.

"If it's flight that you wish to learn about, perhaps I can teach you," A female voice spoke to Claire, surprising the young Avatar and almost causing her to fall from the cliff.

Claire gazed upon the woman, seeing her adorned in orange and yellow monk robes covering her, as well as Master Air-bender tattoos coursing over her. Black hair flowed from the back of her head, whilst the front remained shaven.

"So... which past life are you?" Claire quizzically asked.

"I'm surprised. You recognise my statue but not me in person... well, spirit," The Past life replied as Claire briefly thought to herself, looking back through her memories and remembering her time with Guru Pathik.

"Oh! You're Avatar Yangchen!" Claire enthusiastically replied as Yangchen nodded.

"I studied Guru Laghima's tomes and poems, and found out the secret to his flying abilities," Yangchen explained, her tone becoming more daunting.

"So... how did he do it?" Claire asked, waiting for Yangchen to tell her.

"To fly, you must become unbound from the earth, letting go of all tethers, becoming weightless and able to soar through the skies," Yangchen explained, but Claire looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"So... no earthly attachments? I've already done that!" Claire sceptically replied.

"You may have detached from your loved ones, but they still tether you to the world," Yangchen informed her as Claire remained silent for a moment, thoughts of her friends and family flooding her mind.

"My friends... family... Khana, they still tether me to the world?" Claire asked, and Yangchen nodded.

"The False Avatar has already gained the ability of flight. Everything which tethered him he has either slain or has left his life. And if you cannot keep up with him, you will surely fall," Yangchen adamantly told her as Claire looked off into the distance, her heart heavily weighing upon her.

"If you still wish to unlock the power of flight, repeat these words before you face the False Avatar," Yangchen told her, briefly catching Claire's attention.

"Let go your Earthly Tether, Enter the Void, Empty and become Wind," Yangchen recited, fading away before Claire could say anything.

Claire looked down at the clouds below, leaping from the mountain and descending with jets of fire, silence looming over her as she descended, falling close to the ground before gently easing herself up with jets of fire directed at the ground, landing safely.

"Are you ready to return, Avatar?" Vaatu asked as Claire's teeth lightly jittered, her heart sinking, her eyes blankly gazing into the distance.

"How... can I-" Claire muttered, stumbling over her words.

"Defeat Talos? You must become weightless. Using the Fire Jets will drain your energy too much, even if you use the Avatar State" Vaatu replied as Claire stumbled forward, taking in a sharp breath.

"Is... everything alright?" Vaatu asked, unsure what was going on.

"Letting go of everything that tethers me to the world... means I'll be alone-" Claire muttered, confusing Vaatu as he remained silent.

"If you are to become weightless, you must let the ones you love go, or there is truly no hope against Talos," Vaatu sombrely replied, a tear breaking from Claire's eye, streaking down her face as she looked to her hand, her fingers rigid, her muscles tensing.

"I..." Claire muttered, the weight of her heart dragging her down to her knees.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!" Claire shouted in despair, violently punching the ground, shaking the earth beneath her as the tears flowed.

"Ever since I was young, I've always had people around me, my parents when I was living at the North Pole, Talos whenever we got into trouble, The White Lotus when I began my Avatar journey, Kang when I came to Republic City and when we came to the Spirit World," Claire lamented, closing her tear-stained eyes.

"I've always feared... being alone, I thought I could face that fear when I left the White Lotus compound, but when I came to Republic City and found Kang, it's like my life was telling me I need someone by my side... and now, I need to let him, my family, my friends, and Khana... the first person I've ever loved... I have to forsake them just to fix the Avatar Cycle?" Claire lamented, her voice cracking whilst Vaatu remained silent.

"I... can't do it, perhaps I should just surrender you to Talos, and let him be the Avatar," Claire spoke in despair.

"No! We chose you to be the Avatar, we di-" "WELL YOU PICKED THE WRONG PERSON!" Claire cut off Vaatu with an agonised shouted.

Claire wallowed in her despair, but an odd chill spurned around her, her head perking up to see a black-robed figure looming over her, its black wispy hands cupped to its abdomen, its head concealed from view. The figure silently hovered before Claire as she gazed into the void of its hood.

"What... are you?" Claire asked as she felt her hair stand on end.

"I am known by many names. But to you, I am the Spirit of Death," Death informed her, its voice deep, soothing but menacing.

Claire gulped as she stood up, shakily standing before Death.

"Have you..." Claire spoke as her arms lightly raised, looking to Death as it loomed.

"You believe Raava and Vaatu made a mistake, I am here to make you a deal," Death replied, gesturing with his hands in a proposing manner as Claire looked to her shoulder.

"Vaatu, should I trust him?" Claire asked, but she received no answer, Vaatu had vanished. Claire looked back to Death, sweat breaking on her brow.

"I rarely do this for the living, but I am here to offer you... a second chance," Death informed her, Claire's eyebrows raising as she stood up straight.

"A... second chance at what?" Claire asked, focusing on the abyssal hood before her.

"A second chance at life... a life, where you are not the Avatar," Death told her, holding out its black wispy hand to Claire, as she weighed up his offer, a memory of her father creeping into her mind.

 _"This is a special little technique that you should only use when faced with something you can't beat,"_ Joseph's voice echoed, the young Claire eagerly looking to him.

 _"What is it?"_ The young Claire asked as she bounced on the snow.

 _"Running Away!"_ Joseph heartily shouted as he ran, the young Claire chasing after him.

 _"That's not a technique!"_ The young Claire shouted.

 _"Well, it's working, isn't it!?"_ Joseph's voice echoed one last time as the present Claire looked to her hand.

"I'm... not cut out for this Avatar business... I know that now, perhaps this is for the best..." Claire told herself, reaching for the Spirit of Deaths hand, their palms touching as the black wisps of Death's hand coursed up Claire's body, her nerves going numb, eyes glazing over as she fell, her heart slowly stopping.


	10. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having accepted Death's offer, Claire forsakes her life as the Avatar, beginning again along the side of the New Avatar.

"Claire!" A muffled voice spoke. Darkness clouded Claire's vision, her numb body regaining feeling as she the cold of the snow chilled her back, whilst someone shook her.

"Claire!!" The voice called out again, becoming more distinct as Claire's eyes fluttered open, seeing a concerned Talos knelt beside her.

"TALOS!" Claire shouted as he kicked herself up, raising her fists to him. But Talos raised an eyebrow to her sudden hostility.

"Relax, Claire. After passing out during your spin I didn't think you'd be so fired up," Talos worryingly replied, Claire's heart racing as she looked around at he a seemingly unending field of snow.

"Where am I?" Claire demanded to know as her arms and legs quaked, but Talos scoffed at her, nervously chuckling as he did.

"The... usual training ground... jeez, I didn't hit your head when I caught you, did I?" Talos replied as he shrugged both his arms. Claire looked to his left arm, her eyes widening.

" _He still has his left arm... then that means..."_ Claire thought to herself as she gazed to the confused Talos.

"Oh, yeah... we are. Sorry, must've been a little disorientated after... whatever happened," Claire replied with a nonchalant chuckle whilst Talos looked her up and down, noticing something off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

But before Talos could press questions, the sound of Unalaq and the White Lotus trudging through the snow filled their ears as he and Claire swiftly turned around to see them.

"Talos, Claire... good to see you aren't trying to kill each other for once," Unalaq sharply told them as Talos chuckled.

"There's no need to worry father, do you really think Claire can kill me? I'm the Avatar after all!" Talos pridefully spoke whilst Claire walked forward, quietly standing beside Talos as she looked to them all, Unalaq raising an eyebrow to her.

"What? No witty come back, Claire?" Unalaq sceptically asked, her attention immediately shooting to him.

"Oh, uh... Talos is too much of a softy to try killing me!" Claire replied, resting her arm atop the Prince's shoulder as he smirked, shrugging Claire off before curiously looking to the White Lotus.

"The people before you are members of The White Lotus Order. They are here in search of the Avatar," Unalaq briefly explained, Talos smiled, proudly walking towards the White Lotus.

"Well, look no further my friends. For you have found your Avatar!" He told them with pride in his voice whilst Toph approached him.

"What makes you so sure? Were you bending multiple elements while still in diapers?" Toph sarcastically asked him, Talos' pride briefly shattering whilst Claire contained her laughter.

"No... I wasn't..." Talos replied slightly embarrassed.

"But I can feel the power of the Avatar Spirit coursing through my veins every time Claire and I spar, I can feel as if at any moment I could sever the earth, bend the air to my will, or unleash a roaring wave of flames from my fists," he added as Tenzin stepped forward, pulling out several items wrapped in cloth.

"Well, to determine whether or not you are, I have brought four relics with us, they belonged to Past Avatars, and due to the connection between Avatars you should be able to recognise them," Tenzin told Talos, to which he unravelled the Relics, and upon observing them Talos looked at him with a confident smile.

"Yes, I recognise these!" Talos proudly told him as Katara looked to Toph.

"Is he telling the truth?" She asked her, Toph wriggling her toes on the ice.

"I can't tell if he's lying or not, Seismic sense doesn't work so well on Ice," Toph told them as Claire stepped forward, intrigued by the relics, and Toph felt her approach.

"And here comes the girl!" Toph spoke aloud, as Katara raised an eyebrow to her.

"I thought you said your Seismic Sense didn't work so well on ice?" Katara asked.

"I'm blind, not deaf. I can hear when someone's walking," Toph snapped back as she moved to be in front of Talos and Claire.

"Stand aside, Junior, I think I have a better way of finding out which one of these two is our Avatar," Toph said aloud as she placed herself in front of them.

"Now I'm going to ask you two several questions, and I want you both to answer... and only Aang, me and his friends would know the answer to these, so by extension. One of you should know them if either of you is the Avatar," Toph explained.

"I'll play your games, but it is a waste of time," Talos replied.

"I... think I'll go along with it as well," Claire uneasily replied as Toph raised an eyebrow to Claire, briefly shrugging it off.

"Question one!" Toph spoke as she raised one finger, "What is the name of Aang's Sky Bison?" She asked.

"Appa!" Claire and Talos said in unison, Toph scratching her chin.

"I suppose that wasn't the best one to start off with, due to Appa's popularity. Ho Tun over there even owns an Appa Plushie he got from Republic City," Toph told them, followed by a small chuckle.

Everyone turned to look at Ho Tun as he looked back at them.

"What? He's adorable!" Ho Tun protested as Toph returned to asking questions.

"Question Two!" Toph spoke as she raised two fingers, "Who was Aang's Air-bending Teacher?" She asked, looking to both of them.

"Monk Gyatso!" Claire and Talos spoke aloud, the Prince looking at his friend with a raised eyebrow before turning back to Toph.

"Continue with the questions!" Talos nonchalantly demanded as Toph grimaced.

"Question three!" Toph spoke raising three fingers "What are the names of Aang's three other bending teachers?" she asked.

"You were his Earth-bending teacher, Fire Lord Zuko was his Fire-bending Teacher and his Wife Katara was his Water-Bending teacher," Claire and Talos spoke in unison, both quizzically looking to each other, surprising Unalaq and the White Lotus, as well as annoying Talos.

" _What game is she playing?!"_ Talos thought as Toph took a deep breath.

"Last Question!" She told them as Talos and Claire looked to each other, the animosity rising between them.

"What was my nickname for, Aang?" Toph asked.

"Twinkle Toes," Claire and Talos spoke in unison once again, silence looming over them as The White Lotus, Katara and Unalaq disbelievingly looked at the pair.

"When you said you had two candidates you weren't kidding," Kya muttered to Unalaq as he placed his hand to his chin.

"And here I thought that was going to give us our proper Avatar," Toph muttered, the Silence returning, and Claire thought on what Death told her.

 _"A second chance at life... a life, where you are not the Avatar,"_ Its words echoed in her mind. Claire perked up, clearing her throat and catching everyone's attention.

"I humbly apologise. Talos is the Avatar... I'm just a... knowledgeable girl," Claire told them with a bow, both Talos and Unalaq raising an eyebrow to her out of character response.

"Well... he answered the questions correctly... I guess he is our Avatar!" Toph replied as she patted Talos' shoulder.

"Your journey to becoming the Avatar begins now, Talos. Please say farewell to your people and come with us to The White Lotus Compound," Tenzin formally told Talos, the Prince holding his head high with a prideful smile as he and the White Lotus journeyed into the town.

"Wait!" Claire exclaimed, surprising everyone as they twisted back around.

"Would it be possible for me to... tag along?" Claire asked as Talos looked to the White Lotus with a confident gaze.

"She's an excellent Water-Bender... and having a friend at this Compound of yours would be... comforting," Talos explained to them as the White Lotus looked to one another, shrugging and nodding as they did.

"Come along then... Claire, was it?" Tenzin invited her to join them, Claire nodding and sprinting over to them, travelling down into the town with them.

Claire and Talos bid their parents and the people of the Northern Water Tribe farewell. Although Talos' Polar Bear dog Kazel wished to join him, Talos told him to stay and look after Unalaq whilst he trained, and that he would return one day.

They ventured to the White Lotus Compound where Jinora greeted them gleefully, surprised to see they picked up two people rather than the one, and just as Claire did, Talos trained with the elements within the compound, spending a year and four months practising each of them. But even so, Fire still remained a problem for him, only being able to generate minuscule flames.

Talos and Claire left the White Lotus compound for a time, travelling to Republic City on a boat, hopping off and entering the full moonlit metropolis. Claire and Talos gazed at Republic City, the Avatar taking in his surroundings whilst his Water-Bending friend closed her eyes, letting the nostalgic familiarity sink in, surprising Talos as he looked to her.

"Have you... been here before?" Talos asked as Claire's eyes perked open, looking over to her friend.

"Oh, no, but I've always wanted to come here!" Claire nonchalantly replied as Talos shrugged and looked over to her with a smile.

"So, where to first? Since you seem oh so familiar with the city," Talos asked her as a thought came to Claire's mind.

"The Theatre hall! I think something's going on tonight!" Claire told him with a pointed finger towards the direction of the Theatre hall. Talos raised an eyebrow as Claire sprinted towards it, following behind her.

 _"What in the world is going on with her...?"_ Talos thought as he followed her.

The two arrived at the Theatre hall, Talos intended to go through the front entrance, but Claire shook her head, pulling him around to the back entrance.

"Claire... what are you up to?" Talos uneasily asked.

"I've heard the view from the catwalk is much better than the regular view!" Claire reassured him as they ascended the metal staircase, coming to the iron door.

Claire looked to Talos as he smirked, the Avatar cracking his knuckles and grasping the iron door, bending the metal and pulling it from the hinges, lightly placing it down beside the staircase.

"If we get in trouble for this, it's on you!" Talos whispered as Claire shrugged, the two entering the theatre hall, a chill piercing through them on entry.

"He's here..." Claire muttered.

Talos and Claire strode atop the catwalk, crouching down as they looked to a black-robed and hooded, masked man atop the stage, his arms and legs covered in dark metal armour.

"My people! It is good to see the ones who have returned and all the fresh faces in the crowd! Our movement grows stronger with each passing day, and soon, I assure you, we will hold every bender of this city accountable for their heinous actions!" Amon spoke to the crowd of people who cheered for him.

"Claire... this doesn't look like a play," Talos whispered, but Claire raised her fingers to her lips, signalling for him to be quiet.

The two strode along the catwalk, bumping into a goggled man, the goggled man igniting a crimson flame atop his fingers as Talos bent out water from his satchel, but Claire let out a sharp gasp of enthusiasm.

"KANG!" Claire giddily whispered, Kang, raising an eyebrow to her as his fire extinguished.

"Do I know you?" Kang asked as Talos put his water away, but as Claire replied, he wafted his hand to them.

"Tell me later, I'm investigating Amon. Now you two sneaky lovebirds. Be quiet," Kang dismissively told them as he looked to Amon atop the stage.

"Now, some of you newcomers may have heard the rumour that I can strip a person of their bending capabilities. Well, I assure you, those rumours are true!" Amon told them as he snapped his fingers, making a man in a gas mask pull out a trolley holding three men tied up to individual wooden poles, causing chatter to erupt amongst the crowd whilst Kang's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Where did Amon get a hold of them?" He bewilderingly whispered whilst Talos and Claire remained silent.

"These faces you probably already know. A group of thugs who terrorise the streets and non-bender businesses, even killing my promoter for sick kicks. But soon they will not be a threat to us. Or anyone. Ever again!" Amon told the crowd, his voice becoming more menacing as he spoke.

The man in the gas mask pulled the fire-bender of the group towards Amon, showing him to the crowd like a prized pig whilst Amon approached, grasping the Fire-bender's throat and slamming him against the wooden pole as he raised his hand into the air, beginning the descent towards the man's forehead, pressing his thumb against the centre of it

The Fire-benders pupils shrank to the size of a pin's point as both his eyes turning black as he writhed in agony, Fire ejecting from his hands whilst the crowd murmuring and watched in curious horror.

The Fire-Bender Struggled as Amon maintained a tight grip of him, but the man calmed, the fires sputtering out as Amon lifted his hands from him.

"Cut him down!" Amon told the gas-masked man, doing as instructed, the follower cut the fire-bender from the pole.

He tried using his fire-bending against Amon, but nothing came out, as he groggily stepped forward, Amon avoided his attack, mercilessly striking the Ex-Fire-Bender's gut, causing him to double over as the Masked man followed up by striking his temple with a mighty kick, knocking the ex fire-bender over to his cohorts as the crowd burst into an uproar of appraisal whilst Kang, Claire and Talos stared in mortified wonder.

"He really can take away bending..." Kang muttered, quickly lighting a small flame atop his finger and flicking it towards the curtain behind Amon, going unnoticed by the masked man and the crowd.

"We should get out of here!" Kang told the two as Claire nodded.

"He's right, this place is about to blow!" Claire whispered, surprising Talos and Kang.

"How did you... Oh, never mind!" Kang replied, throwing his arms in the air as the three ran from the building, fleeing to the outside of the Theatre hall, Kang and Claire looking toward the theatre hall.

"Three... Two... One..." Kang and Claire counted down in unison, surprising Kang as a large junk of the theatre exploded, making Talos jump back as he watched the smoke plume shoot up into the sky.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was going to blow," Talos spoke in surprise.

"Indeed, it was evil... but a necessary evil," Kang nonchalantly replied as he smiled at the plume.

"You're right... we should get to City Hall, a Riot will be brewing right about now," Claire replied as she began running towards City Hall, both Talos and Kang's mouths hanging ajar as they watched her leave.

"How does she know these things?" Kang asked as he crossed his arms.

"That, my friend, is an excellent question..." Talos replied the two shrugging and chasing after Claire. The three arrived at City Hall, seeing two hoards a sizeable distance from each other converging on City Hall.

"And... she was right... huh, weird," Kang muttered as he gazed at the two hoards, but Talos scoffed as he strode in between the hoards.

"Don't worry, I can handle this!" Talos proudly proclaimed.

Claire and Kang stood back as Talos took a firm stance, leaping to his side and pushing an earthen wall at one of the approaching hoards, blocking their path as he repeated the same movements against the opposite hoard. Talos took a deep breath, slamming his feet on the ground and erecting the walls higher into the air, each rivalling the height of the surrounding buildings.

"Hold on... Water... Earth... is he?" Kang asked as he looked to Claire, who gave an affirmative nod.

"Yep, he's the Avatar!" Claire replied, hesitantly smiling at him as the Governors of the city and Police chief Beifong marched out of the city, looking to Kang, Claire and Talos.

"What on earth is going on out here?" Sheng asked as he looked at the two massive earthen walls. Talos turned to them, holding his head up high as he did.

"Well, my friend over there predicted a Riot happening outside here, and your Avatar just prevented it!" Talos proudly informed them, the Governors gasping as Chief Beifong remained steadfast.

"The Avatar! Finally, someone who can sort this city out!" Gao enthusiastically replied.

"Come Avatar and co!" Hou told them as he invited them in, but Lin tapped him on the shoulder as the other Governors returned inside.

"Are we sure we want to let Kang in?" Lin asked as Hou looked over to him, recognising Kang.

"Eh, he was just a thief... I doubt there's anything worth stealing inside City Hall that's not locked up," Hou nonchalantly replied, Lin, rolling her eyes as she and Hou followed the governors, quickly followed by Kang, Claire and Talos.

They entered a room filled with rows of pews facing a stand with five positions, one for each governor and one for Lin. A Noble ambience filled the room as each of the governors and Lin took their places, Lin stood in the centre, Gao and Sheng stood to her right whilst Hou and Jing stood to her left.

"Avatar, the city has been suffering these Riots ever since Amon appeared two years ago. We were hoping you would arrive to bring balance to the city," Sheng told Talos whilst he observed the Governors.

"You five look more than capable, why don't you?" Talos dismissively asked.

"We have tried, but unfortunately our hands are tied. If we take the side of the non-benders, the City will see it as us siding with Amon. If we side with the benders, Amon's Cult will see it as us enforcing the 'oppression' they rant about," Gao informed him.

"The Avatar has always been a middle ground in conflicts such as this, a person of power who does not pick a side," Hou explained.

"Do you have any ideas or methods on how we could handle the city's situation?" Jing asked. And Talos strutted forward.

"Have any of you heard of the ancient art of chi-blocking?" Talos asked, the Governors curiously looking to one another.

"There used to be Kyoshi Warriors who taught it when Republic City was still Cranefish town... but the people lost interest in learning it," Hou informed him as Talos smirked.

"Well, I say it's high time to revive it! Give these non-benders a weapon to fight back, even the playing field!" Talos explained, the Governors giving him quizzical looks.

"I mean... that could work," Hou told his fellow Governors and Lin with a shrug.

"It might... we could also give them weapons training," Jing replied, presenting his Space Sword as an example.

"I'm not sure... it could make things worse," Gao replied as he placed his hand to his chin.

"Battling power with more power rarely works," Sheng nonchalantly added.

"Well, if it doesn't work, I'm sure Mr. proud boy here can fix it," Lin replied, lightly mocking Talos as he scoffed at her.

"Then so be it... We'll put the Avatar's plan into action post haste," Gao told them as the Governors left, briefly chattering among themselves as Kang, Claire and Talos left.

"That went better than expected!" Kang told them as they strode out the door.

"Yeah..." Claire uneasily replied.

"I'm curious... are you two investigating Amon as well, or did we just bump into each other by mere happenstance?" Kang curiously asked them.

"It was happenstance... but I wouldn't mind taking him down, my first challenge as Avatar!" Talos replied, proudly pumping his arms as Kang smirked, crossing his arms.

"Well, I have a place just down the road if you two don't have anywhere to stay," Kang told them.

Claire and Talos followed Kang back to his lab, The Avatar being utterly blown away by the inventions, but Claire simply smiled at them, reminding her of simpler times.

Months flew by as the city experienced the effects of Talos' plan, Ty Lee of the Kyoshi Warriors arrived per request of Jing, training the city's non-benders in Chi-blocking whilst Amon remained in the shadows of the city, waiting for his moment to strike.

Talos became fast friends with Kang, as did Claire, but her always being one step ahead of him always took him aback, curious to know how she knew everything that would happen before it happened.

Just as Claire did, Kang escorted Talos to the Fire Nation Palace aboard The Magnificent Turtle Duck, leaving Claire behind in the city, much to her dismay.

Talos would request to learn the secrets of Fire-bending from the Dragons Ran and Shaw, but they deemed him unworthy, attempting to scorch him to ashes as he ran from the ancient city, whilst Amon abducted Kang in the Avatar's absence.

After Zuko and Talos' returned to the Royal Palace, Talos crossed paths with Khana, the Kyoshi Warrior becoming Talos' protector, despite his disapproval.

The two roughly flew back to Republic City, assisted by Kang upon seeing their return whilst he sat bound within the memorial.

Claire awaited Talos and Khana, seeing the Full Moon hanging in the sky, and hearing the footsteps of Talos and Khana approach.

"Claire?" Talos called over to her, the Water-bender waving to them as both he and Khana raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know her?" Khana asked, readying her hands over her daggers.

"Relax, Khana. She's a friend..." Talos replied as he looked to Claire. The two approach her, Khana's heart skipping a beat as she gazed upon Claire.

"Hi, Khana," Claire told her with a smile, surprising the two of them.

"You know me?" Khana asked with a sceptically raised eyebrow as Claire briefly gasped, sweat breaking on her brow.

"Oh, yes. I've heard all about you! The Right Hand of the Fire Lord! It's an honour!" Claire replied with a brief bow as Khana crossed her arms with a blushed smile.

"I didn't realise I was that renowned, well it's a pleasure to meet you too... Claire?" Khana told her, struggling to word her name whilst Talos curiously looked at the two before interjecting.

"Alright, lovebirds, we're here for Kang, remember?" Talos told them, the two blushing as they glanced away.

"Apologies, Avatar," Khana formally replied.

Khana strode to the shore, erecting a bridge across the water towards the Memorial for the three to run across, seeing an entrance leading into the Statue.

Khana and Claire cautiously walked into the dimly lit interior whilst Talos strutted in, the salty stench of the sea pervading the inner sanctum of the memorial and the crashing of waves resonating within the hollowed chamber.

As the three entered, Khana could sense several people waiting to ambush them, whilst Talos wandered inwards with one goal in mind, Claire and Khana hung back, the Kyoshi Warrior focusing on the positions of the ambushers, clenching her fists and causing the stone of the statue to latch onto them, trapping them inside it, several grunts echoed throughout the statue, whilst Talos looked over at Khana and Claire in curious wonder.

"Did you do anything just now, Khana?" Talos asked as The Kyoshi Warrior smiled, the rosiness of her cheeks gleaming through her make-up, skipping over with eyes closed whilst humming a tune to herself as Claire followed shortly behind.

Talos looked to them as they walked away, following them up the stairs to the peak of the statue, Khana waving to one of the would-be ambushers trapped within the wall on their way up.

The three made it to the top of the statue, the crashing waves silenced, and the full moon shined through the cracks in the Statue whilst Amon stood before them, with Kang bound behind him, the mad inventor looking over to the three of them standing there.

"Run!" Kang mumbled through his gagged mouth.

"I'm impressed you made it this far," Amon told Talos, curiously looking to Khana and Claire.

"Well, I've been eager to meet you face to mask!" Talos sarcastically replied as he approached Amon, but as he did, the masked man raised his hand towards Kang's head.

"Not a step closer, or your friend gets it!" he threatened Talos, stopping him in his tracks, the masked man lowering his hand then turning his full attention to Talos.

"We can end this peacefully. But to do so, you must pick one of two options," Amon told him, but Talos scoffed at him.

"Peace isn't really my thing, Amon..." Talos told him, to which Amon grinned under his mask.

"At least hear me out... You can either surrender your bending to me, here and now. Or You join me in my revolution against this city, assist me in taking down our pathetic government, and bring about real harmony. Do this, and I shall let your friends walk free," Amon explained.

"You lost me at 'surrender'!" Talos proclaimed as he punched his fist, unleashing a gust of wind, but the wind brushed passed Amon as he raised his arm like a puppeteer, seizing control of Talos' arm.

"What-!?" Talos exclaimed, looking at his controlled arm as Kang forced his gag off, letting it drop to his neck.

"He's a bloody Blood-Bender! Get out of here!" Kang told them as Amon pinned Kang down with his free arm, and as Amon loomed before them, a thought came to Claire's mind.

"Well, let's see if two can play at that game!" Claire proclaimed, striding forward and raising her arms like a puppeteer towards Amon, taking control of his body as the moon shined upon her face.

"You dare!" Amon growled as Kang, Talos, and Khana gawked and stared at Claire.

"You're a bloody Blood-Bender!?" Kang exclaimed as Talos and Khana backed away slowly.

"I know what you're thinking, but there isn't time. Run!" Claire told them as she struggled to keep hold of Amon.

Talos nodded, grabbing ahold of Kang and racing out of the room with Khana in tow, Claire swerved her arms to the side, throwing Amon onto the floor, disorientating him as she leapt from the top of the memorial, descending towards the water and plopping into it, quickly resurfacing to see Talos, Kang and Khana already out at the base of the statue.

Claire hopped back onto the shore whilst Kang, Khana and Talos warily marched towards her.

"Claire... how long have you been a Blood-Bender?" Talos asked in an uneasy tone.

"... a while," Claire nonchalantly replied, utterly befuddling Kang, Khana and Talos.

"What, you just... picked up Blood-Bending after seeing it once?" Khana asked as Claire shook her head, looking smoke billowing in the distance.

"Look... this is too unbelievable to explain, but right now there's another Riot brewing, and if we don't get there, the City could fall!" Claire told them as Talos marched towards Claire, placing a hand to her shoulder.

"Blood-Bender or not... you're still my friend," Talos confidently told her before turning to the others.

"Come on, you two! We have City to protect!" Talos proudly told them as Kang and Khana begrudgingly followed them into the city.

The four sprinted passed rubble and scorch marks before arriving at City Hall, seeing the people of the city clash, Benders having their chi-blocked and being knocked unconscious, whilst non-benders were being burnt by fire, squashed by the earth, pushed, pulled and frozen by water.

Amidst the chaos the three could see Lin, the Governors and Ty Lee fighting against both sides of the conflict, several benders tried to strike Lin, she blasted them all away as she formed a barrier of rock around her, slamming her fists against it and launching segments of the earth at her attackers, Hou deflected the pieces which flew towards him, his fellow Governors and Ty Lee. Kang and Khana leapt in with reckless abandon, whilst Talos and Claire stood back.

"Well, let's have some fun!" Talos enthusiastically told her as he sprinted in, clashing with rioters of all sides. But Claire watched on, unsure what to do.

"This was the moment I went into the Avatar State... but what's going to happen now?" Claire asked herself, hearing a metal clinking approach her from behind.

"You've crossed paths with Death too, haven't you?" Amon asked her, sending a chill down Claire's spine.

"Yes, I have..." Claire frightfully replied as Amon briefly chuckled to himself.

"The Spirit of Death gave me back my life... and it's given you a second chance at it, I wonder what you wished to change," Amon told her as he strode into the chaotic riot, crossing paths with Talos.

"Avatar!" Amon shouted, striking fear into the Rioters, subduing the fighting as Talos turned to him.

"Let us settle this here and now! Just you and me!" Amon challenged him as Talos scoffed, pushing aside a rioter and approaching Amon.

"Fine by me, Amon. Come and get it!" Talos provoked him, but to his surprise, Amon unleashed a shadow tendril from his gauntlet, ensnaring Talos.

"What!?" Talos exclaimed. Claire tried to interject, but Amon pulled out the shadows of rioters, bending them into a wall around him and Talos.

Talos tried to break free of his shadowy binds as they tightened around him, his eyes flushing with a bright light, letting out a mighty roar as he shattered the shadow binds.

"Impressive..." Amon replied as he jerked back.

Talos lunged in at him, the power of the Avatar State blinding him as he unleashed a powerful wave of flame, but Amon vanished into the Shadow realm, reappearing behind Talos, forming a shadowy blade in his hand, however, Talos swiftly twisted around, kicking out and striking Amon's head, throwing him to the side, the Avatar bending the water up from the floor, forming a spear of ice.

"Talos, no!" Claire shouted, but her words fell on deaf ears, and as Amon tried to stand, Talos threw the spear to Amon, piercing his chest, but no blood leaked from his body, and the shadows dissipated.

Talos turned to the rioters, laughing with pride, his eyes still glowing with the power of the Avatar State as he turned to Amon's corpse, but it had disappeared, the ice spear along with it, and before he knew it, Amon ran Talos through with the Ice spear, blood trickling down the tip.

"TALOS!" Claire, Kang and Khana cried out as Amon held him atop the Ice spear.

"Foolishness, Avatar..." Amon whispered as he wrenched the ice spear from his body, a ray of spiritual energy shooting into the sky, lightning crackling along the skies as the light from Talos' eyes faded, his body falling to the ground.

"The Avatar... IS DEAD!" Amon proclaimed, the rioters erupting into appraisal for Amon.

Claire stood in horror, but Kang and Khana charged in, intending to take down Amon, but he vanished before their eyes, reappearing behind them, piercing their hearts with blades of shadow.

"Go, be with your mother, old friend," Amon whispered into Kang's ear before ripping the blades from them.

Claire cried out their names as she raced over to them, throwing herself down to them, cradling them in her arms, watching the life fade from them as Amon moved onto the Governors, Lin and Ty Lee mercilessly slaughtering them whilst Claire watched them fall, blood soaking Amon as he proudly stood before his rioters.

"Today! Is the day we take Republic City!" Amon preached to his followers. Claire looked to Talos, running over to him and holding his body.

"Raava! Vaatu! Can you hear me!?" Claire desperately asked, her words echoing throughout Talos' mind. Raava and Vaatu lay within the fading of the Avatar's mind, trying to cling to life.

"We... really messed this one up, didn't we?" Vaatu asked as he groaned.

"We did... I'm sorry, Vaatu..." Raava replied, her cosmic form fading away, shortly followed by Vaatu fading, Claire's head hanging, sobbing as her body shook all over.

"This is all my fault..." Claire muttered to herself, the cheers of the rioters dampening as Claire wept, the forsaken Water-Bender's tears hitting the floor as a familiar chill whisked around her.

"Do you still think the Spirits of the Planet made a mistake?" a menacingly soothing voice asked, Claire, looking up to see the Spirit of Death hovering beside her.

"What!?" Claire replied, her voice cracking as her tears ran.

"The Shadows stirred, strange winds blew... and of all the people born on the day of Avatar Aang's death, they chose you!" Death told her whilst Claire remained quiet, hanging her head as a looked of fearless determination washed over her.

"Now show them why!" Death sharply demanded, taking its leave with Talos, Khana and Kang whilst Claire stood tall.

"EAMON!" Claire shouted, Amon's eyes widening as he twisted around to see Claire.

"How dare you say that name in front of me!?" Amon growled.

"It's like you said, Death gave me a chance to start anew, but now I know l my path. I am the Avatar!" Claire proudly proclaimed, standing before Amon, but the masked man's anger shattered into laughter, followed by the rioters laughing.

"The Avatar is dead, slain by my hand!" Amon replied as he raised his arms like a deity, but Claire scoffed at him as she readied herself to fight.

"Talos was never meant to be the Avatar, and I know that now. I'm going to bring balance back to the world I forsook, even if it kills me!" Claire told him, determination burning in her eyes whilst Amon quizzically looked at her.

"You don't understand what you're dealing with, girl," Amon sinisterly replied as he approached, but Claire simply smirked.

"I understand enough... Shadow-Bender!" Claire coldly replied, taking aback Amon as his heart skipped a beat.

"Ah, death... the fickle swine," Amon growled as he raised his arms to his side in a taunting manner.

"Then come, girl. Prove your worth!" Amon demanded.

"With pleasure!" Claire snarled, her sacrum twinging as she threw herself in at Amon, striking mercilessly with the surrounding water.

But Amon disappeared from view, reappearing behind Claire, however, the water-bender spun down, sweeping the masked man's leg and swiftly erupting a geyser beneath him.

Amon soared up into the air, the Rioters watching on as their boss quickly regained his footing, bending out Claire's shadow and summoning it to his side.

"Relying on numbers won't do you any good, Eamon!" Claire taunted him, his eye twitching in rage.

"I AM AMON!" He shouted, unleashing a chilling shadow along the battlefield.

"Take my shadow. Take my bending, I don't care!" Claire shouted, the base of her spine twinging as she sprinted at him, avoiding the attacks of her shadow and leaping in towards Amon, unleashing a flurry of kicks and punches whilst the Shadow-Bender deflected and dodged.

"I have slain your friends with ease, what makes you think you won't end the same?!" Amon asked as he continued brushing aside Claire's attacks.

"I know there's nothing I can do to bring them back, but I won't rest until I see the ones I love avenged!" Claire shouted, her heart twinging as she broke through Amon's guard, striking his gut and hoisting him into the air.

Claire glared at Amon as he hung before her, viciously slamming her fists into his mask as he dropped to the floor.

Claire relentlessly smashed and slammed her fists into Amon, as he flailed around like a rag doll, the water-bender grasping the disorientated Shadow-Bender by his hood, forcing his cracked, splintering mask to face her.

"Avatar or not, by my Will balance shall be restored!" Claire proclaimed, her stomach twinging as she delivered a swift uppercut to Amon's jaw.

Amon flew upwards, landing on the ground, and as he groaned in pain. Claire's shadow tried to strike the water-bender down, but Claire swiftly counter-attacked, striking the shadow and incapacitating it.

Amon leapt back to his feet, charging in at Claire with reckless abandon, summoning blades of shadow to his hands as Claire deftly evaded his attacks, but avoid as she might, the blades glanced her flesh, slicing her open as she winced at the pain.

"You call yourself an Avatar, but what kind of Avatar throws away their duty!?" Amon asked as he continued slicing into Claire.

"I convinced myself that Vaatu and Raava made a mistake, that I wasn't supposed to be the Avatar... but I was just lying to myself out of fear!" Claire snarled, her throat twinging as she evaded the merciless shadow blades.

"Then tell me! Who are you!? _What_ are you!?" Amon demanded as he slammed his foot into Claire, launching her back, the water-bender tumbling onto the ground, but she pushed herself back to her feet.

"I... am Claire," She growled, her forehead twinging, taking a deep breath as a cold, black wind brushed passed her.

"AND I AM THE RIGHTFUL AVATAR!" Claire proclaimed, her eyes glowing with a brilliant light as a beacon of cosmic energy erupted from her, parting the looming shadows.

The Reborn Avatar ascended into the air, Fire roaring from her mouth and fists, the Earth beneath her shattering and erupting whilst a ring of water and air circled her body whilst Amon smirked at her, raising a hand to Claire and egging her onto attack as the Avatar grimaced, a light forming around her hand as the Edge of Balance materialised before her.

Claire swirled the sword around her form, the elements following the blade as she descended towards Amon, slashing through his form with a mighty cry. The Shadow-Bender stumbled back, clasping his chest as Claire landed behind him.

"I may be a Spirit Young Avatar... but that still hurt," Amon groaned in a distinct voice as Claire turned around, raising a quizzical eyebrow whilst the world around her slowly faded away, revealing the Spirit World to her, and before her eyes, Amon faded away, revealing Kaishi clutching his chest.

"Avatar Kaishi...?" Claire muttered as the glow faded from her eyes.

"Do you see now that Vaatu and Raava did not pick the wrong person?" Kaishi sharply asked her in as Claire dismissed the Edge of Balance, standing up straight before him.

"I do," Claire proudly replied as Kaishi smiled at her, placing his hands behind his back.

"I can understand your fear of loneliness, but you are the reincarnation of over a thousand lives!" Kaishi told her, snapping his fingers as all the Past lives of the Avatar appeared behind him, shocking Claire as she briefly jerked back.

"The Avatar—no matter who they are—is never truly alone. We will always be here, and we will forever stand beside you and the Avatars to come," Kaishi explained, Claire smiling as a dim glow radiated within her.

"My, that was quite a trip!" Vaatu exclaimed as he appeared on Claire's shoulder.

"Vaatu, where were you!?" Claire asked as she looked to her shoulder.

"In the hands of Death... it wasn't pleasant," Vaatu explained as Claire lightly scoffed before turning back to Kaishi.

"Speaking of which... what was all that?" Claire asked, curiously shrugging her arms.

"Death sent you back through time itself, resetting your life, and once you realised the truth, he plucked you from that time and brought you back here," Kaishi explained whilst Claire looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"... has four and a half years passed by then?" Claire worryingly asked, but Kaishi shook his head.

"Time is a mysterious thing. For you, four and a half years have passed... for us, only about twenty minutes," Kaishi explained as Claire breathed a sigh of relief, briefly chuckling to herself before looking to Kaishi.

"The mortal world needs you, Claire. Now more than ever," Kaishi adamantly replied, looking to her with a stern gaze.

"It's time for the world to get its Avatar back... its _real_ Avatar!" Claire proudly proclaimed as Kaishi nodded, raising his hand to Claire's forehead.

"I'll give you a quick jump to the Nexus. Best of luck, Claire," Kaishi told her, a dim light emitting from his hand, transporting Claire to the Nexus.

Claire appeared within the hollow tree, stepping out to see the empty void of the Nexus before her.

"We should take the North Pole Spirit Portal," Vaatu recommended as Claire looked to him on her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"Wouldn't Whale-tail island be quicker?" Claire sceptically asked.

"Whale-tail island may be faster. But don't you want to see your parents one last time before your battle?" Vaatu asked as Claire took a sharp breath, exhaling shakily before nodding.

"Yeah... that would be nice," Claire replied, walking over to the North Pole spirit portal, letting the light engulf her and teleport her to the bottom of the Spirit Oasis.

Claire weaved her arms around her body, spinning up and out of the oasis water, bending the water off her body and flicking it back into the oasis.

Claire smiled at the Moon and Ocean Spirits whilst Vaatu waved to them, two bubbles popping up from the water as Claire departed, striding out into the ghost town, looking up to the Chaotic skies with a hollow gaze.

Claire looked away from the skies, slowly marching down the icy roads, passing by dimly-lit lamps whilst the smells of ice and fish flowed through the surrounding air, and as Claire travelled through the town, she spied a light coming from inside a house, her house. She ambled over to the wooden door, knocking four times, alerting Joseph and Norrak as they raced to the door, opening it to see Claire stood before them.

"Claire!" Joseph & Norrak exclaimed, quickly pulling her into a hug as tears flowed from all three of them.

"We thought we'd never see you again!" Norrak exclaimed in a muffled voice as Claire and her parents slowly released their hug, drying their eyes.

"Like I'd ever let that happen," Claire sombrely jested, a smile breaking over Norrak's and Joseph's faces.

Claire and her parents walked into the living room, closing the front door behind them, Joseph and Norrak looking at Claire with a worried gaze.

"You're going to fight Talos, aren't you?" Joseph asked as Claire let out a shaky breath, affirmatively nodding.

"I have to... as the Avatar, it's my duty to bring balance to the world... and Talos is a threat to the balance," Claire firmly replied, a tear rolling down her face as she spoke.

"Well... if you plan on fighting him, you'll need some fast transportation!" Joseph replied as he quickly sauntered upstairs, surprising Claire and Norrak.

Joseph came back as quickly as he left, holding a long wooden stick with two pointy diamond shapes near the ends.

"Lucky for you, I have this!" Joseph told her as he presented the stick to Claire.

"A... stick?" Norrak asked as Claire lightly gripped the wooden stick, orange wings flipping out from the sides, surprising Claire and Norrak.

"A glider!? Where did you get this?" Claire exclaimed, demanding to know.

"A monk washed up on the shores of the Bright Empire carrying this with him, and The Radiant Emperor saw this as an invasion. So he captured him, stripped him of his belongings, interrogated him and then after that... no one knows what happened to the poor sod," Joseph lamented on the experience.

"So you... stole the glider from him?" Claire asked as she retracted the glider wings.

"No, I nicked the glider from The Radiant Emperor who stole it from him before he exiled me. With a bit of light-bender trickery. I turned it invisible and sneaked it across the border. Personally, I just did it to annoy him," Joseph replied, letting out a hearty laugh near the end.

"Well... thank you for stealing it," Claire replied with a smirk whilst Joseph and Norrak smiled at her, both of them hugging her one last time.

Joseph and Norrak guided Claire to the door, walking out onto the streets with her as she prepared the glider.

"Do you know how to use that thing?" Joseph curiously asked.

"I'm the Avatar... of course, I do," Claire replied with a confident smile.

"Good luck, dear! Kick Talos in the rear!" Norrak gleefully shouted to her as Claire smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry, I will!" Claire replied, setting off on the glider and soaring through the air as her parents waved goodbye to her.

Claire glided away from the North Pole, determinedly looking to the direction of Republic City.


	11. The Azure Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kang soars across the Skies atop his loaned Sky Bison. The Storm is approaching, and he's coming for the False Avatar.

Tuan soared through the turbulent chaotic skies with Kang atop her head, seeing the Heart of Chaos' imposing Crystal structure looming amongst the waves of Chaos.

"Tuan, down there!" Kang shouted over the turbulence, the Sky bison giving an affirmative low roar as she began descending towards the Heart of Chaos. Kang saw everyone on the ground looking towards people laid atop earthen beds and gazing up at someone flying out from the Heart of Chaos.

Zu looked up, seeing Khana fly through the air, swiftly launching himself into the air and catching her, slamming back down to the ground as Suki ran over to him. Zu slowly turned around, showing her the beaten and broken Khana, The Kyoshi Warrior gasping as she looked at her.

"Li! Kya! Katara! She needs you!" Zu shouted, the three water-benders quickly rushing over whilst Zu raised an earthen bed, laying her down for the three to heal her.

Toph pushed her feet to the ground, feeling for the vibrations of Khana's heart, and as she did her head lowered, letting out a heavy sigh as she looked to Suki.

"This isn't good... she's going to need something better than regular water healing!" Li exclaimed as he continued running the water up and down Khana's body.

"We can't get Spirit Water, that's all the way up in the North Pole!" Katara exclaimed whilst everyone worryingly looked on at Khana, but as they did Tenzin heard Tuan land a fair distance away from them, turning around to see the hazy image of the Sky Bison. Kang patted Taun's head, leaping from her, and as his feet hit the ground, Toph's eyes widened.

"Do you know the way back from here, Tuan?" Kang asked as the Sky Bison gave an affirmative grumble, Kang smiling as he petted her head.

"Well, Yip-Yip your way on home! And thank you for the ride!" Kang told her as Tuan ascended back into the sky, returning to air mountain. Tenzin looked at the flying Tuan Whilst Toph wiggled her toes.

"Now, unless my feet deceive me... Azula just arrived on a Sky Bison," Toph exclaimed as Zuko perked up from his seated position, rushing over to Toph, as did Sokka, Suki and Katara.

"Are you sure, Toph?" Zuko asked, readying himself for combat.

"It certainly feels like her... and I'd know a thud like that from anywhere," Toph replied as Shu, Tenzin and Kya joined them, ready to fight, leaving Li alone to sustain Khana.

"Oh, come on!" Li exclaimed at the two water-benders whilst Zu, Ho Tun, the Governors and Lin quizzically looked at them.

"I can't believe it... after all these years, she's finally shown herself..." Zuko sombrely exclaimed.

"Well, whatever she has planned, we can take her down!" Sokka proudly proclaimed as he limped forward, readying his sword as Kang raised an eyebrow at everyone's hostility.

"Jeez, I thought they'd be happier to see me," Kang muttered, but as he approached further, Zu squinted his eyes at him, walking forward and passing by the ready combatants.

"Don't mess around Zu! Azula's dangerous!" Toph shouted to him, but Zu raised a hand to her as he approached.

"Kang?" Zu called out to him, seeing the mad inventor's prosthetic hand wave to him.

"KANG!" Zu shouted, charging at him like a bull and scooping him up into a bear hug, Kang let out a sharp gasp as Zu lovingly restrained him.

"Hi, Zu!" Kang replied through his squishing whilst the combatants dropped their guards, curiously looking at Zu and Kang.

"Kang?... That kid who used to run around with Zu, Li and what's-his-name?" Toph asked.

Zu dropped Kang back down to the floor, wondrously looking into the mad inventor's eyes.

"Your goggles! Where are they?" Zu asked, quizzically shrugging his arms as Kang lightly smiled.

"I didn't need them anymore," Kang replied, lightly tapping the hairpin as Zu looked at it, then smiling at Kang.

"I also got your letter!" Kang told him as he pulled the letter out from his pouch, showing it to Zu, causing the Giant to well up.

"Thank you for doing what you, Li and Eamon did," Kang added with a smile.

"It was the least we could do! Come on," Zu replied, leading him to the others.

Kang and Zu strode in side by side, amazing everyone to see Azula hadn't come to them.

"Toph, it's not like you to mix people up... why did you think Kang was Azula?" Katara curiously asked her, the Water-bender crossing her arms.

"And what was this about him arriving on a Sky Bison? They're extinct!" Tenzin interjected, but Toph lightly scoffed, smirking at Kang as she did.

"I guess Twinkle Toes was right... you really are Azula's son," Toph said aloud, surprising everyone except for Zu and Li.

"He's WHAT!?" Sokka exclaimed, hopping over to Kang and studying him, gazing into his eyes and looking at the hairpin.

"Wow, he really is... he's very... Azula-y," Sokka shockingly exclaimed whilst Zuko gawked at him, a silence looming over them.

"That explains why I felt a chill when we met..." Zuko exclaimed, to which Kang nodded.

"Indeed, Uncle ZuZu," Kang nonchalantly replied, the Fire Lord's eyes slanting at him in an unimpressed manner.

"Can I ask you something, Kang?" Zuko asked, the mad inventor looking into his eyes, sombrely nodding as he did.

"Was Azula, your mother... was she happy?" Zuko asked, struggling to word his sentence as Kang took in a long deep breath, nodding to Zuko.

"She was, and she's still here in spirit," Kang sombrely replied, Zuko smiling at him.

"And to answer your question, Tenzin. A small amount of air-benders survived the genocide, and they're still living inside a mountain within the earth kingdom," Kang explained as Tenzin looked at him utterly flabbergasted, and whilst the Air Nomad remained speechless, Kang looked around, raising a worrying eyebrow.

"Where are Khana, Sky and Lin?" Kang asked as Zu looked over to the earthen beds, letting out a heavy sigh as he pointed to them.

Kang quickly ran over, seeing his unconscious friends and Li desperately trying to keep Khana alive.

"Li! What happened?" Kang asked as Li perked his head up, his eyes widening as he saw Kang.

"Kang!" Li exclaimed as he kept the water coursing up and down Khana.

"They tried fighting that False Avatar guy, Lin, Sky and Ty Lee are alright... but Khana... she's not looking good," Li explained as Kang looked down at her, lightly placing his prosthetic hand to her face as a thought bloomed in his mind, reaching around into his pouch and pulling out a flask of water.

"Would this help?" Kang asked as he showed the water to Li, but he raised a curious eyebrow to Kang.

"Unless that's Spirit Water... no," Li replied as he returned his focus to Khana, a moment of silence dawning on them as Li lifted his head back up.

"It's Spirit Water, isn't it?" Li nonchalantly asked.

"Yep!" Kang replied, handing it to Li. The healer gently took the flask, popping the cork and looking to Katara and Kya.

"Oi, you two! Get over here," Li shouted, taking aback Katara and Kya as they rushed over.

"Kang got Spirit Water! Let's get to work," Li told them as Katara and Kya curiously looked at the mad inventor, shrugging it off and bending a segment of the Spirit Water from the flask, forming it around Khana. The water soaked into the Kyoshi Warrior's body, a faint light emitting from her, and as the light faded, Khana let out a low groan.

"Where... am I?" Khana asked as her eyes fluttered open, trying to sit up, but the pain still racked her body, as she slowly looked around seeing Kang stood over her.

"... Kang?" Khana faintly asked.

"The one and only!" Kang gleefully replied as Khana smiled at him, struggling to speak.

"You just rest, Khana. From the looks of it, you had quite the battle," Kang told her as Khana slowly nodded, lowering her head back down and shutting her eyes, and as Khana returned to her rest, Lin slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes before looking around, seeing Kang turn to her.

"... Kang?" Lin softly exclaimed, sitting up from her earthen bed and slowly approaching him.

"It's good to see you, Lin," Kang replied, affectionately smiling at her whilst everyone observed the two, silence looming over them.

"I... thought you might've been dead, what happened to you?" Lin asked, her heart racing as she looked into Kang's eyes.

"Well, lost my left got kicked into a Spirit Portal," Kang began explaining, lifting his prosthetic and wiggling its fingers.

"I guess all that 'you never know when you'll need a spare limb' talk really came through for you," Lin jested as Kang smiled at her.

"Indeed! Then after that, I met my Great-Uncle, met a Lion Turtle, saved Claire, went to a Library with a big owl in it, left Claire behind in the Spirit World," Kang explained, looking around to Khana, seeing her still asleep and breathing a sigh of relief, "... returned home," Kang continued, letting out a heavy sigh, half smiling at the thought.

"Reconciled with my mother, met the Air Clan, became a Dual-bender," Kang explained as he flicked his wrists out, conjuring an Azure flame in one hand and a spiral of air in the other, "and now I'm here," Kang finished, extinguishing his elements whilst Lin stood in awe, unable to think of a way to respond.

"Are all your adventures that strange?" Lin asked as Kang briefly chuckled.

"Just the ones involving the Avatar," Kang replied, smiling before looking to the Heart of Chaos.

"And now... I'm going to put Talos in his place," Kang told her as he began his march towards the Heart of Chaos.

"Kang! You can't go in there on your own, he's too powerful!" Lin exclaimed as Kang stopped in his tracks, turning back to her with a confident smile, conjuring a second Azure flame in his hand.

"We'll see who's stronger," Kang replied a smug grin, but Lin clenched her fists as Kang marched away once more, the Police chief outstretching her arm, pulling on the metal of Kang's prosthetic arm.

"Oh, my!" Kang exclaimed as Lin dragged him back into her arms, everyone else lightly choking as they watched.

"Well... you aren't leaving without this," Lin told him, slowly closing her eyes and kissing Kang, everyone's mouths hung open, their eyes widening whilst Kang closed his eyes, softly embracing Lin.

"MY MAN!" Zu cheered, clapping his hands as Li cheered with him.

"Huh... I didn't see that one coming," Toph quietly exclaimed.

"You can't see anything to begin with," Hou spoke without thinking as Toph swiftly bent up a small pillar of earth into Hou's gut, knocking the wind out of him as he collapsed to the floor.

"And you should've seen that coming," Toph jested as Lin and Kang ended their embrace, both softly smiling at one another as they did.

"Well... now I'm motivated," Kang told her with an uncontrollable smile, Lin smirking at him, lightly scoffing as she patted his arm.

"Go get him, Kang," Lin commanded as Kang nodded, resuming his march towards the Heart of Chaos, determinedly glaring at it.

"Don't worry, Claire. I won't let you go through the pain I did," Kang solemnly muttered as he strode further towards the Heart of Chaos, arriving at its archway and stepping inside, making his way onto the Obsidian Bridge. Talos perked his head up, looking to Kang as he marched across the bridge alone.

"I don't recognise you... Who are you?" Talos asked, but Kang silently glared at him, standing tall with his palms open, the deafening silence taking aback Talos.

"What? No proud proclamations? No pre-battle banter? Did you just come in here to-" Talos began monologuing, but an Azure fireball cut him off as he leapt away from it, landing back down to see the blue flames crackling atop his destroyed throne. Talos turned his gaze to Kang, seeing him lower his open prosthetic palm back to his side.

"Fine, you want to get right to the fighting? Then let's get right to the fighting!" Talos shouted, punching out a stream of violet flame, to which Kang swiftly countered, striking out with his open palm and blasting out a stream of Azure flames. The two streams collided, coiling around each other and crashing into the crystal ceiling, Talos looked up in wonder whilst Kang remained focused.

Talos leapt forward, taking a firm stance then thrusting his blade arm into the air, striking up four stalagmites under Kang, but the mad inventor flowed into the air, landing atop the stalagmite on the ball of his foot, deftly leaping forward and kicking out a ball of azure flame as he flowed down the stalagmites, spinning and kicking out crescents of blue flames for each stalagmite he landed on.

Talos erected walls of obsidian to block his attacks, but with each strike of Kang's Azure fire, the walls crumbled to pieces, knocking Talos back with each strike and as Kang landed back on the bridge, Talos unleashed a powerful violet comet towards Kang, but he stood his ground, leaping and spinning in the air, blue flames coursing around his hands as he landed, assuming a firm stance and striking his hands out, parting and dissipating the violet comet whilst Talos wondrously glared at him, Kang's arms lightly quaking.

Kang leaned back in his stance, taking in a deep breath, bringing his hands to his mouth, pointing two fingers up towards his nose as his stomach contracted before leaning forward, blowing out a spiralling stream of Azure fire from his mouth, Talos gawked and leapt weightlessly into the air, waiting for the fires to cease then generating an arc of violet fire from his foot, slamming down onto the ground, intending to roast Kang, but the mad inventor flowed away from the attack, the fire barely touching him before he flipped around, unleashing jets of azure flames from his feet, charging at Talos with a relentless pace, punching out streams of unparalleled firepower from his palms.

Talos desperately tried to defend himself with walls of obsidian, but the walls crumbled before the flames like nothing. Kang stopped his fire jets, leaping forward and slicing his arm upwards, erecting a razor-sharp wall of flame and slicing it at Talos, but the Avatar leapt away from the fire, feeling the heat and unleashing a blast of air at Kang as he floated back down.

The gust shoved Kang back, however, the mad inventor stood his ground as Talos began frantically slicing his blade arm at Kang, launching slashes of each element one after another, but Kang deftly weaved between the slashes, leaping through the gap between the last two, rolling forward and punching out both his palms, unleashing a mighty blaze of blue, Talos tried to defend himself once more, but the obsidian walls crumbled, throwing the Avatar back into the ruins of his throne.

Talos' breath became ragged as he glared at Kang, his teeth gritted whilst his heart raced. Kang took a slow breath, arching his arms around himself, lightning crackling along his fingers as Talos' heart skipped a beat, watching Kang bring the tips of his right hand in front of him, closing his eyes and letting out a long breath.

" _From now on you'll always carry me with you, Kang,"_ Azula's voice echoed in Kang's mind as a faint blue glow radiated around him.

Talos furiously stood up, beginning his charge toward Kang, the Avatar's eyes turning pitch black, but Kang opened his eyes, glaring at Talos as a condensed azure flame grew on his prosthetic fist, Kang twisted around, bringing the generated lightning behind him as he punched out with his left fist, Azula's spirit forming behind the mad inventor, mirroring his movements as the mother and son unleashed two gigantic, unmatched coiling streams of Azure Fire, Talos froze on the spot as the flames approached, mercilessly engulfing him.

Talos' screams echoed throughout the Heart of Chaos as the coiling fire streams smashed through the ruins of his throne, destroying the waterfall and crashing into the crystal walls. The crystal cracked and split at the sheer force of the flames, shattering as the Azure flames soared up into the air, spiralling around each other like two sapphire dragons, the roaring sound of the flames surged across Republic City whilst everyone outside gawked in awe, and a tear-streaked out from Zuko's scarred eye.

The flames stopped, revealing Talos burnt all over, his sleeveless shirt utterly destroyed whilst his pants and boots barely held together, most of the left pant leg being burnt off whilst the right leg remained mostly scorched, and his blade arm glowing a brilliant hot white.

Talos stumbled forward, his eyes still pitch black, but Kang had no mercy for him, stepping forward and striking out with his hand, Azula's Spirit mirroring his movements as the mother and son unleashed two coiling bolts of Lightning, striking Talos' heart, the Avatar roared in pain as the electricity surged all over his body, and as the bolts ceased Talos stumbled back, the black light fading from his eyes as he slowly collapsed to his knees. Kang took an upright stance, slowly pushing his hands down the front of his body, letting out a slow breath as Azula's spirit faded back into the mad inventor whilst Talos collapsed onto his stomach, letting out a faint gasp as he did.

"It's over," Kang coldly spoke, turning around and beginning his march from the Heart of Chaos, but as he did, a faint chuckle echoed from behind him, his heart skipping a beat.

Kang turned around, seeing Talos slowly stumble back up, slowly chuckling, an ominous black light coursing over him as he stood back on his own two feet.

"That... was Spectacular!" Talos exclaimed, a look of crazed amazement crawling over his face.

"ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR!" Talos shouted at the top of his lungs, outstretching his arms like a deity as chaos erupted from his body, unleashing a mighty shock-wave and blowing Kang back as he stood his ground.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kang exclaimed as he stood strong against the chaotic force, Talos' wounds partially healed into scars as he lowered his arms back down, the chaotic shock-wave ceasing.

"For a moment I thought I saw the Spirit of Death itself... but Raava pulled me back from the brink!" Talos proclaimed, shocking Kang as he frightfully gazed upon Talos.

"You are the first to truly push me to the edge of death! And for that, you have my utmost respect!" Talos proudly told him, briefly bowing his head whilst Kang glared at him, unsure how to respond, but the mad inventor turned his gaze to the hole he'd created, seeing someone stood on the azure burning rim.

"Well, looks like I missed quite the snazzy performance!" A woman's voice echoed throughout the Heart of Chaos, surprising Talos as he turned to look at the person standing within the hole.


	12. The Fated Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire and Talos finally cross paths, the battle for balance in the world begins, but who will be victorious?

Claire soared through the skies on the gilder, coursing through the turbulent Chaos whilst keeping her eyes to the south, waiting for Republic City to come into view, and as she continued gliding, the sight of the Heart of Chaos tainted her vision, gawking at it with frightful wonder.

"That must be where Talos is," Claire told herself, swallowing her fear as she soared towards it, landing atop a building a fair distance from the Heart of Chaos, wondrously gazing up at it.

"The entrance must be on the other side," Claire told herself as she observed it, preparing to set off on her glider once more, but as she did two coiling streams of Azure flames shot out from the Heart of Chaos. Claire quickly ducked to the ground, looking up to the coiling flames in awe, the heat beating down on her as their roar surged throughout the city.

"By the moon and ocean, what was that!?" Claire exclaimed as she watched the fire dissipate, quickly standing up and looking to the hole in the Heart of Chaos.

"Well... looks like I got my entrance," Claire told herself with a smirk, intending to soar up to it. Claire glided across to the hole in the Heart of Chaos, flashing sparks coming from within, shortly ceasing before a dark light emitted from the interior. befuddling the gliding Avatar.

"Just what exactly did I miss?" Claire asked herself, landing on the azure burning rim of the hole, taking a deep breath as she stood tall. Claire noticed Kang standing before the scarred, shirtless Talos, smirking at them as she did.

"Well, looks like I missed quite the snazzy performance!" Claire called out to them, Talos' heart skipping a beat as he turned to see her, a wide grin coming over Kang whilst a zealous smirk came over Talos.

"Claire!" Both Kang and Talos exclaimed, The White-haired Avatar leaping from the rim, striding towards Talos with a confident smile, the two Avatars standing inches from each other.

"Long time no see, Talos," Claire greeted him with light animosity as Talos scoffed.

"For you, perhaps. You certainly took your time getting out of the Spirit World," Talos replied with equal animosity.

"I thought I'd see the sights, pick up a thing or two from _my_ past lives," Claire told him, perching the glider on her shoulder.

"Then our battle shall finally begin... at long last," Talos eagerly replied as he lightly shrugged his arms out.

"Hold your ostrich-horses, Talos," Claire told him, raising her free hand to him, causing Talos to raise an eyebrow to her.

"I'm going to see my friends first, then I'll happily come in here and fight you," Claire added as Talos smirked.

"Very well, I have waited this long... a few more minutes is nothing," Talos replied, inviting Claire to leave and meet with her friends.

Claire marched passed Talos, but as she did, a devilish idea came to the black-haired Avatar's mind as his hand turned a translucent blue. Talos lunged forward, intending to swipe Vaatu from Claire, but she too turned her hand to a translucent blue, grasping his arm and tightly gripping it, looking back at him as their hands returned to normal.

"Not this time, Talos," Claire scornfully replied as Talos ripped his arm from her grasp, half smiling as he backed away. Claire continued walking over to Kang, looking him up and down as she did.

"I have to say, if it wasn't for the prosthetic arm, I wouldn't recognise you," Claire jested as Kang shrugged.

"Well..." Kang replied in a melancholy manner, slumping his shoulders as he looked to Claire.

"I'm... sorry I couldn't beat Talos for you," Kang added, causing Claire to raise a quizzical eyebrow to him.

"... I appreciate the attempt, but this is my fight now," Claire replied as she placed a hand on his shoulder, Kang nodding before the two continued out of the Heart of Chaos.

"And I gotta say, you look good like that," Claire told him with a smile.

"Lin thought so too," Kang replied in a suave tone, the two stepping out of the Heart of Chaos.

Khana, Sky and Ty Lee sat up from their earthen beds, their heads still fuzzy and pain still racking their bodies.

"So... did we miss anything?" Sky asked as he sat up, groggily holding his head.

"Well, Kang's back and he arrived on a-" Lin began telling him, looking up to see Kang and Claire approaching them, "The Avatar!?" Lin exclaimed, making everyone quickly perk up and turn to see the two striding towards them.

"THE AVATAR!" everyone exclaimed, rushing over to her whilst Khana stood Avatar-Struck.

"Claire...!" Khana quietly exclaimed, shortly following everyone else as they crowded around her.

"That's me!" Claire nonchalantly greeted them.

"You took your time getting here, Avatar!" Zu commented on Claire's late arrival.

"Well, I needed some guidance from my past lives... and I had to traverse the Spirit World to find them," Claire replied, crossing her arms as she spoke.

"If you're here, then have you beaten Talos? Are you a full Avatar now or?" Hou asked, shrugging his arms as he did.

"Not yet... I came here to see you all one last time before I..." Claire replied, letting out a sharp sigh as she looked to the ground.

"I just wanted to let you all know, that no matter what happens... I'm thankful to have met you all," Claire added as she perked her head up, everyone quizzically looking around at one another.

"You say that like this is your grand finale," Zuko commented as Claire remained silent for a moment, gazing at the ground.

"Grand finale or not... I needed to say it," Claire replied, lightly throwing her glider to Tenzin. The Air Nomad snatched it out of the air, sceptically looking to it as Claire walked away, trying to keep her head held high. But Khana muscled through everyone, quickly limping after Claire.

"Claire!" Khana cried out, grabbing onto the Avatar's hand as it swung behind her, Claire's heart skipping a beat as she turned to Khana, looking into the confused Kyoshi Warrior's eyes.

"Sorry, Khana..." Claire told her, as Khana slowly stood up straight, looking into Claire's anguished eyes.

"Before you go... promise me one thing," Khana told her as the two inched ever closer, Khana's hands wrapping around Claire's, as the Avatar gave her an affirmative stare.

"Promise me I'll see you again when all this is over," Khana demanded in a shaky voice.

"I... promise," Claire sombrely replied, the two touching their foreheads to one another as Khana gently placed her hand on the back of Claire's neck.

"I love you," Khana softly told her.

"I love you too," Claire shakily replied as the two released their embrace, looking into each other's eyes one last time, sorrowful smiles coming over their faces as Claire departed, her footsteps slowly fading from the ears of her friends.

Claire stood before the Heart of Chaos, looking back to her friends one last time before returning her attention to the looming crystal, closing her eyes as she thought of her friends.

"Let go your earthly tether," Claire told herself, her parents and elemental masters fading from view, the Avatar lightly choking, gritting her teeth, "Enter the Void," the Governors, Team Avatar, Zu and Li fading from view, her fists clenching, muscles tensing, "Empty..." Sky, Ty Lee, Kang and Lin fading from view, a tear streaking from the Avatar's eye as she took a shaky breath, "And become... wind," Claire finished, Khana fading from view as her tear soaked eyes briefly glowed.

Claire stepped through the archway, marching in and across the bridge, seeing the burnt, shirtless Talos standing before the ruins of his throne, eagerly awaiting her.

"Alright, Talos. Your Avataring days are over!" Claire proclaimed, stretching out her hand to him.

"Hand over Raava," Claire demanded, but Talos shook his head.

"If you want her, then you'll have to take her," Talos informed her, slowly walking towards her and stopping a fair distance from her.

"But you already knew that," Talos told her, to which Claire lightly nodded.

"I figured, you might say that," Claire disappointingly replied as Talos lightly smirked at her.

"Tell me... how many times have we fought?" Talos asked as he proudly stood before her whilst Claire lightly shrugged.

"Hard to say... but if memory serves," Claire replied, stretching her arm out to the side as a light formed around her hand, the Edge of Balance materialising into her hand.

"I'm still up one," Claire smugly added, faintly smiling at Talos as he smiled back.

"We may be friends, Claire... but I cannot accept your existence as Avatar!" Talos snarled as Claire scoffed.

"Then let's settle this... Talos!" Claire adamantly replied, crouching and pulling the Edge of Balance to the side of her face as Talos smugly smirked.

"Come, Claire!" Talos demanded, stretching his hand out to her as his blade arm arched back. Claire lunged at Talos as he dashed in, their blades colliding, the clang of the metal reverberating throughout the Heart of Chaos, the interior partially cracking as they stood their ground.

Talos kicked Claire away, breaking their stalemate and mercilessly leaping in before Claire could regain her balance, viciously swinging his blade arm and unleashing slashes of Fire and Air, to which Claire countered and weaved through the strikes, keeping a tight grip on the sword.

Talos leapt forward, spinning around and bringing his blade down upon Claire, slashing towards her without hesitation, just barely missing her as Claire dodged backwards, and as Talos continued slashing with reckless abandon, Claire caught his blade on her own, swinging it around and throwing him off his balance, bending water onto the blade as she, slashed the blade upwards, quickly pirouetting and forming a razor sheen of water, the water's wrath forcing Talos back, as Claire quickly broke the pattern, lunging forward like the wind with her sword pointed towards Talos, intending to run him through, but Talos quickly leapt to the side, matching her speed and spinning around, intending to cut her down, but Claire dematerialised the Edge of Balance, quickly taking a firm stance and flicking her hand up, erecting an obelisk of Obsidian, as Talos' blade cut into it, briefly trapping the blade.

Claire twisted around, grasping ahold of the Obelisk and swinging herself around to Talos, viciously kicking him and breaking him away from the obsidian, throwing him into the waters below. But quickly as he dived in, Talos reappeared behind Claire, his hand turning translucent as he descended unto the Avatar, but she thwarted his sneak attack, leaping away as the False Avatar smashed into the bridge. Claire hovered in the air, swiftly punching down and unleashing a roaring crimson blaze, but Talos quickly rolled onto his back, pirouetting his legs in the air and unleashing a spiral of violet flames.

Claire landed back on the ground, leaping in at Talos with the Edge of Balance poised to strike, but as she swung the blade, he disappeared from view, reappearing by his shattered throne as an inky black aura encircled him.

"You can't resist my power!" Talos proclaimed as the wind rushed through the Heart of Chaos, forming a multitude of afterimages at Talos' side.

"Tricks Talos? Are you an Avatar or a magician?" Claire taunted him over the growing turbulence.

Talos weaved his blade around, the after images copying his movements, all swinging their blades in unison, unleashing razor slashes of violet flame, however, Claire stood her ground, bringing the Edge of balance over her shoulder and behind her head, gripping it tightly with both hands as the violet slashes approached.

The Edge of Balance radiated with crimson flames as the Avatar threw herself towards Talos' barrage of violet fire, cleaving through the flames with her own.

"WOOHOO!" Claire cheered as the Edge of Balance recklessly spun her forward towards Talos, eventually regaining her balance and leaping in towards, and as the False Avatar gawked, Claire kicked out a furious crimson blaze, but Talos quickly leapt over and behind Claire, to which she quickly countered with an obelisk of obsidian, knocking Talos away from her and onto his bridge.

The two glared at each other before charging in once again, their blades smashing into one another and throwing them off to their sides, both quickly freezing the water and standing back up, mimicking each other like a mirror as they punched their fists out, pulling up gigantic cliffs of earth and obsidian.

The two cliffs smashed into one another as they continued rising, with Claire and Talos running up the backs of them. The cliffs pierced through the Heart of Chaos' shell, shattering the crystal as it rained down on them.

Claire and Talos came face-to-face once more, clashing their blades, the force throwing them back as they landed on individual pieces of crystal. Claire's friends watched as the black cliffs shattered the crystal, all gawking as Claire and Talos duelled.

Claire leapt from her crystal, as did Talos, their blades glancing one another as they landed on a separate crystal platform once more. The two Avatar's punched out flames of violet and crimson, the forces colliding and coiling as they leapt up and around the falling crystals, blasting Air and obsidian boulders at each other before they landed back on the obsidian cliffs, charging and clashing swords once more, the metal clanging reverberating across the city as they threw themselves back to the edges of their cliffs. The two looked to one another as they slowly regained their breath, standing tall atop their peaks.

"What a rush!" Talos enthusiastically laughed.

"I haven't had a fight like this in ages!" Talos added as he raised his arms to his side.

"Just like old times..." Claire replied with a smirk as she dematerialised the Edge of Balance, crossing her arms and gazing at Talos.

"Indeed... but we both know it won't end the way it usually does," Talos sombrely told her as he raised his blade arm to her.

"Let me guess, next you're gonna say 'No more messing around Claire, it's time to kick things up a notch'" Claire predicted.

"No more messing around Claire, it's time t-... oh you're good," Talos replied, smirking at Claire as she smirked back.

"Avatar State?" Claire asked, dropping her arms to her side.

"Avatar State!" Talos confidently replied, crouching down and readying his blade.


	13. Cataclysm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two Avatar's collide, holding nothing back, but their fight puts the Mortal and Spirit Worlds on the edge of devastation

Claire's friends looked up at the two as they conversed, questioning why the battle had seemingly ceased.

"Any idea what they're up to?" Lin asked, curiously looking to Kang.

"Casual conversation before the final battle?" Kang asked as he placed his prosthetic hand to his chin.

"So... Final Battle, I'm guessing that means they won't be pulling any punches?" Lin asked him, and Kang nodded.

"As far as I'm aware, this is the first time two Avatars—probably fully realised Avatars—have fought... we are literally witnessing history!" Kang exclaimed with odd enthusiasm.

"But what are the chances of 'history' killing us?" Khana asked with her arms crossed.

"Absolutely certain!" Kang exclaimed, shocking everyone.

"... If we stick around here, that is," Kang quickly added, briefly calming everyone.

Claire's eyes glowed with a brilliant white as Talos' eyes glowed with a piercing dark, thunder rumbling and lightning crackling as their power rose ever higher, the ground quaking beneath them, their hair ties fluttering away as their hair flowed in the surging power.

"We best get moving!" Kang shouted as Claire and Talos collided, a powerful shock-wave pulsing out as Fires of Red and Violet surged around the city.

"To the Magnificent Turtle Duck!" Kang shouted, quickly running to the Derelict estate, followed by everyone else. Zu picked Toph up off the ground and carried her on his shoulders.

"You know I can run just fine, Zu!" Toph lightly scolded him.

"No offence, Chief. But I'm not taking any chances," Zu respectfully replied as he sprinted.

"You Big Softy," Toph jabbed him with a smirk as Zu smiled back.

Claire and Talos' battle raged on atop the ruins of the Heart of Chaos, fists colliding, obsidian rubble and roaring flames being thrown left and right before Talos swiftly sucker-punched Claire's jaw, shooting her across the city and just barely missing the one-year war memorial, Claire's friends watched her fly by as Talos pursued her. Kang and the others arrived at the Magnificent Turtle Duck, but Kang lightly gasped at it.

"Okay, who crashed it?" Kang asked in a melancholy tone.

"ME! NOW COME ON, LET'S MOVE!" Khana shouted, taking aback Kang as he opened the shell for everyone to climb in. Kang, Lin, Khana and Sky took to the cockpit whilst everyone else took their seats within the shell's interior. Kang threw himself into the pilot's seat, quickly revving up the Magnificent Turtle Duck's engines.

"So, Kang. What's the plan? Fly away as far as we can?" Lin asked as she sat next to him.

"No, we're going to follow the fight and do whatever we can to help Claire!" Kang adamantly replied as the Magnificent Turtle Duck took off into the skies.

"Didn't you say we'd 'certainly die' if we did?" Sky worryingly asked.

"I know what I said, but we're not leaving Claire alone, no matter how much she feels she needs to be," Kang sharply replied as he gave chase to the duel of Avatars.

Claire descended towards the water, quickly freezing it and landing atop the ice, but Talos came down with a mighty swing of his blade and fist, shattering the ice and spraying the water into the skies above whilst Claire weightlessly drifted away from the falling water, the False Avatar flying up to catch her.

Claire swiftly materialised the Edge of Balance to her hand, clashing blades with Talos once more as they ascended into the skies, lightning crackling along the chaotic skies as hurricanes formed in the distance.

"Kang, are you sure the Magnificent Turtle Duck can take all this?" Khana asked as the Magnificent Turtle Duck shook.

"Never doubt my creations!" Kang sharply replied as he returned his focus to the skies.

Claire and Talos surged across the skies, slashing and colliding with their blades and elements, but as they duelled a bolt of lightning fired at Claire, seizing her attention, the Avatar outstretched her arms to it, channelling the lightning through her body and redirecting it towards Talos. However, he did the same, redirecting it into the ocean as it cascaded.

The sheer power of the lightning briefly paralysed Claire and Talos in their redirecting poses, the two silently floating as they blinked their normal eyes, their hair stuck up whilst a thin layer of black covered their faces.

"Shall we take five?" Talos nonchalantly asked.

"Good idea," Claire replied with equal nonchalance. The two lowered their arms, cracking their necks as Claire pulled out a small amount of water from her satchel, rubbing it along her face and in her hair, bringing it back to normal before flicking it over to Talos, who swiftly caught it.

"Ah, thank you," Talos replied as he did the same as Claire, flicking it back to her as he pulled out two hair ties.

"Hair tie?" Talos asked as he went to lend Claire one.

"No thanks, it'll probably just blow out again," Claire nonchalantly replied as Talos sceptically looked at his hair tie.

"Good point," Talos said as he put it back in his pocket.

"Shall we continue?" Talos asked.

"Let's," Claire replied, their eyes glowing once more as they engaged each other again, the two unleashed a mighty roar of fire at one another, the fires exploding in a display of red and violet as Kang quickly banked away from them.

Claire used the cover of the flames and smoke to fly around and sneak attack Talos, catching him by surprise and sucker-punching him into the remnant explosion, the force of Claire's strike threw Talos towards the south, the Avatar quickly giving chase as the False Avatar righted himself.

Claire lunged towards him, striking out with her fist once more but Talos clasped her attack, pulling her in and slamming his knee into her gut, knocking the wind out of her before unleashing a mighty gale down upon her, throwing Claire down towards the ocean, splashing into it and quickly forming an air bubble around her head.

Talos smirked and launched himself down into the ocean, forming an air bubble around his head as the two duelled underwater, slashing and whipping at one another with the water which surrounded them.

Claire shot herself like a torpedo at Talos, forming a small flame on her fist then delivering a blazing uppercut to Talos, launching him from the ocean as the fire roared through its surface. Claire quickly gave chase, preparing the Edge of Balance as Talos spun uncontrollably threw the skies, The Avatar swung her blade at the False Avatar, but he just barely deflected her attack with his own blade, as Claire swiftly countered with a powerful blast of air from her palms, blasting Talos further into the south.

Claire pursued him across the world, as did the Magnificent Turtle Duck, but as he fell, Talos didn't correct himself as he hurtled towards Kyoshi island, letting himself land in the ocean, Claire eventually catching up to him, seeing the ripples of his fall amongst the turbulent waves.

"Where did you go?" Claire muttered as she scanned the surroundings, but as she did, Lava erupted around the perimeter of Kyoshi Island as the island began lifting into the skies above, with Talos underneath it. Claire gawked at it in awe, as did Kang, Lin, Khana and Sky.

The False Avatar grinned at Claire as he held Kyoshi Island up with his hand.

"Here's a gift! For all the birthdays I've missed!" Talos roared as he threw Kyoshi island at Claire.

"Oh, you cheeky little..." Claire muttered as she watched the island approach, floating firm and outstretching her hands, bending the island to her will, barely stopping it in its tracks and dropping it back into the ocean.

But as she did Talos arched towards her over the island, his blade poised to strike, but as he mercilessly swung his blade, Claire quickly parried his attack with her sword, the metal clinking reverberating across the ocean, sending out a shock-wave and blowing the two Avatar's back.

"I think it's high time to settle this," Claire told him as a whirlpool formed beneath them.

"That's right... Come on!" Talos encouraged her as the water swirled up into the surrounding air, and as it did, a crack began forming in the sky, catching Khana's attention.

"Kang... any idea what that is?" Khana worryingly asked as she gestured to the crack forming in the sky, several others forming as Claire and Talos recommenced their battle.

"Oh, that's not good!" Kang softly exclaimed.

"What is it?" Sky asked as he squinted at the forming cracks.

"If I'm right... Claire is a vessel of Order, whilst Talos is a vessel of Chaos... and because of their battle, the constant clashing of negative and positive energy is sending Our World and the Spirit World on a one-way collision course!" Kang frantically theorised.

"So basically if they don't stop fighting soon we're doomed," Lin replied with her arms crossed.

"Precisely!" Kang replied with his prosthetic finger raised.

"But... Claire's winning right?" Khana uneasily asked as they watched them duel, Fire, Air and Water thrashing around as the cracks grew ever further.

"No... she isn't... but neither is Talos. They're evenly matched!" Kang exclaimed as he watched them.

"Oh, we're doomed," Sky dauntingly replied.

"Not if we can help her!" Kang told them, but a daunting realisation came upon them.

"And that person is going to have to be you," Khana replied as Kang nodded.

"Khana, take control of the Magnificent Turtle Duck," Kang told her as he handed her the steering stick. The Kyoshi Warrior took it without hesitation as Kang stood up.

"Shout when Talos is vulnerable then open the shell, and Lin you slam that door shut when she does!" Kang instructed them, the two nodding as Kang made his way into the shell room, catching everyone's curiosity as he did.

"Is everything alright, Kang?" Zu asked as Kang dauntingly looked to him, silence falling on the room.

Talos delivered a mighty blow to Claire's gut, propelling her up into the air and towards a crack in the sky, gawking at it in awe before chasing after her. Claire flew through the crack, appearing in the Spirit World, shortly followed by Talos, poised to strike whilst Khana watched them fly through, soaring towards the crack.

"We're not going into that thing, are we?" Sky frantically asked.

"Yes, we are!" Khana confidently replied as she shot through the crack, following Claire and Talos into the Spirit World.

The duel of Avatars surged across the skies, parts of their surrounding area warping to the Chaos whilst others remained unaffected as the two soared over Iroh's teashop, shortly followed by the Magnificent Turtle Duck.

"Kick his butt, Avatar!" Xiong cheered as he pumped his paws in the air.

Talos slammed Claire into the side of a mountain, cleaving out part of it with her. But Claire quickly regained her composure, bending the remaining piece of the mountain up, melting them into Lava and unleashing a barrage of lava bullets, but Talos weaved through them like they weren't even there, outstretching his hand and unleashing five raging streams of violet fire towards Claire.

She quickly leapt into the air, kicking out five blasts of air from the ball of her foot in quick succession, striking and evaporating the violet fire as Talos flew in towards her, blade ready to cut her down. But Claire summoned the Edge of Balance to her hand, standing atop the centre of the cleaved mountain. The Blades of the Avatars collided, Claire gripped the handle and Spine as the sheer force of Talos pushed her bag, the Avatar digging her feet in as Talos over-zealously smirked, but Claire fiercely glared back at him.

"You will accept..." Claire growled, dismissing the Edge of Balance and ducking under Talos' blade as it slashed over her, leaping up and grasping Talos by his throat.

"MY EXISTENCE!" Claire shouted, slamming Talos into the cleaved mountain, the entire monolith crumbling as they fell through. Talos shook his head as the two descended through the rubble, clashing once more.

"Why? WHY!?" Talos snarled as Claire parried and dodged his attacks.

"Why do you still rival me!? I have sacrificed everything _EVERYTHING_ to achieve my destiny, to achieve this power!" Talos shouted as the two clash their blades, standing steadfast amongst the rubble.

"So why!? WHO DO YOU STILL RIVAL ME!?" Talos agonisingly asked as Claire shook her head.

"Being the Avatar isn't about power!" Claire replied, pushing him off and slashing at him as he stumbled.

"It's about fighting to your last breath to protect what's important," Claire told him, lowering the Edge of Balance to her side as Talos shook all over.

"You threw away everything you ever had, me, Kazel, Unalaq, The Northern Tribe... it's no wonder Vaatu and Raava didn't choose you!" Claire proclaimed as Talos snarled, roaring and charging at the Avatar, blade poised to strike, but Claire dismissed the Edge of Balance, pulling an earthen gauntlet to her hand and uppercutting Talos, slamming him through a looming crack in the sky, swiftly giving chase as the Magnificent Turtle Duck followed.

The two appeared back in the mortal world, Talos dazed from Claire's attack as she began bending up a gigantic tsunami behind her, shocking Talos and Khana as she flew through the crack.

Claire mercilessly threw the tsunami at Talos, catching the Magnificent turtle Duck in the crossfire, but Khana retracted the wings in time, piercing through the Tsunami and launching out of the other side, quickly ejecting the wings once more.

Talos watched the Tsunami approach, taking a deep breath as he punched his fist through it, weaving the Tsunami around him and throwing it back into the ocean, but as he did, Claire leapt in with the Edge of Balance, cleaving through Talos, quickly grappling him by his hair and throwing him across the skies.

The two soared across the Earth Kingdom, Talos' wounds quickly healing as Claire loomed over him, intending to strike once more, and as their fight rage on, Eamon saw them fly by, smirking at them as they did.

"You've got this, Claire!" Eamon loudly cheered as the tips of Claire's and Talos' blades collided, sending out a shock-wave as Talos fell back towards the Ocean.

The two Avatars landed near the shore as Claire slammed down on the ground, letting loose a spiky monolithic rock formation, but Talos landed atop the highest one, looming over Claire as she stood on the lowest point.

"Oh, great... now he has the high-ground," Claire groaned as Talos chuckled to himself.

"This has been quite the battle, Claire. But now you're at quite the severe disadvantage!" Talos taunted her. But before Claire could reply, the Magnificent Turtle Duck soared behind Talos as Khana quickly turned to Kang.

"Kang, quickly! He's monologuing!" Khana shouted as she hit the shell button and Lin metal-bent the door shut. Kang began arching his arms around his body as lightning surged across the room. Claire looked at Kang, seeing the lightning surge.

"Let go of my earthly tethers..." Claire scoffed as she shook her head, feeling an invisible weight lean onto her as she looked up to Talos

"Without those tethers, I never would have come this far," Claire muttered to herself as Talos raised an eyebrow to her.

Whilst Claire kept Talos distracted, Kang brought his hands together in front of him, a faint blue glow emitting around him as Claire quickly bent the water from her satchel, throwing it at Talos, soaking him as the False Avatar bewildering looked to himself and Claire, and with a merciless thrust of his arm, Kang shot a bolt of lightning from his fingertips, Azula's spirit appearing and mirroring his movements as Zuko's heart skipped a beat.

Azula's spirit turned her head to the Fire Lord, smiling to him as the bolts of Kang and Azula coiled around each other, striking Talos directly. The False Avatar agonisingly roared as the lightning surged across his soaked body, descending from his Avatar State, as Claire began leaping up the spiked monolith towards him, and as the lightning ceased, Claire delivered a mighty hay-maker to Talos' Jaw, knocking him from the monolith and towards the ocean.

Claire swiftly froze the water beneath Talos, causing him to land and slide along it, however, he quickly stood back up, charging at Claire as she landed, but with a spin and thrust of both her fists, she knocked him back to the edge of the ice.

Talos desperately unleashed a torrent of Water at Claire, but she bent up a bow of ice before her, parting the water like a ship as Talos desperately roared, his body crawling with electricity as he unleashed a stream of violet fire, but Claire met it with her own stream of crimson flames, overpowering Talos as he stumbled back.

Claire bent the ocean water to her side, letting it flow towards Talos as she unleashed an icy breath upon it, Talos charged through the icy water, painfully roaring as his body slowly stopped, his limbs freezing as he outstretched his arm to her, but as the ice breath ceased, Talos became completely frozen, standing before Claire like an ice statue.

"FINISH IT!" Kang shouted from the Magnificent Turtle Duck as Claire sprinted along the ice towards Talos, her hand turning a translucent blue as he leapt over him, swiping her hand from the crown of Talos' head down to the base of his spine, the ice shattering as she cleaved Raava's spiritual essence from him. Immeasurable pain surged over Talos' body as he fell forward, and Claire stood triumphant with Raava in hand.

"Raava... welcome back," Claire sombrely spoke as Raava's spiritual essence infused with Claire, feeling the rush of energy course over her body before descending from the Avatar State, but Talos forced himself back up, his body limping over as his legs quaked.

"No... give... them back," Talos demanded as he shuddered, but Claire shook her head.

"It is... _my_ destiny to be Avatar!" Talos added as he limped forward.

"No, Talos. I've seen what happens with you as the Avatar... I can't allow that to come to pass!" Claire told him with a heavy stare.

"What!?" Talos growled as he slowly began standing up straight, stumbling onto his knee, his breath laboured.

"The Cycle would end if Raava and Vaatu chose you, wake up and face the reality that you weren't born to be the Avatar!" Claire scolded him, taking aback Talos as he snarled at her, the avatar letting out a heavy sigh as she gazed upon him,

"Raava... will he live?" Claire asked as a tiny Raava appeared on her shoulder.

"I took the Chaos with me when you pulled me from his body. Your friend will live," Raava informed her before fading back into Claire, remembering the advice given to her by Aang, Roku and Kyoshi.

"I won't see you die a second time. So, I'll spare your life in the name of our past friendship," Claire told him as she turned her back to Talos.

"Don't make me regret it," Claire adamantly told him as she strode away towards the Magnificent Turtle Duck. Talos gritted his teeth as he gazed down at the icy ground, glaring up at Claire as a tear streaked from his eye.

"Trust me, Claire..." Talos growled as he forced himself back up, lunging in towards Claire a final time.

"YOU WON'T LIVE TO REGRET IT!" Talos proclaimed as he poised his blade to strike.

Claire closed her eyes, grimacing as she summoned the Edge of Balance to her hand, swiftly pirouetting around and cleaving Talos' blade arm off, shocking him as Claire spun the blade back to her side, the tip aimed at Talos, and with a merciless thrust, Claire stabbed Talos through his stomach, blood spurting from the wound as Talos doubled over towards Claire, and with a sorrowful inhale, she ripped the sword from Talos, her friend stumbling back as he placed his hand to the wound, lifting his hand to see his palm soaked with blood, his vision becoming hazy, his breath raspy.

"I guess Unalaq... was right," Talos muttered as he fell onto the ice, gazing up to the chaos above him.

"Was this... always to be my fate? Or did envy... set me on this path?" Talos softly asked himself through the pain, his life ebbing away.

"I guess now... I'll never know," Talos finished with a soft smirk, his head tilting to the side as the life faded from his eyes. Claire closed her eyes as tears streaked down her face, The Edge of Balance dematerialising.

Kang quickly rushed back into the Magnificent Turtle Duck cockpit, Khana relinquishing control as she heard Kang approach.

Kang slowly landed the Magnificent Turtle Duck on the water next to Claire's icy island, retracting the wings as the Magnificent Turtle Duck floated atop the water. Kang opened the shell, allowing everyone within to stand up and move out of the room, Sheng quickly marching out and, fixing his hair as he stepped off the Magnificent Turtle Duck, shortly followed by his fellow confused Governors.

"Avatar! We thank you for every-" "Shut up," Claire growled, cutting Sheng off mid-sentence, her words taking him aback.

Kang, Lin, Sky and Khana stepped out from the cockpit, seeing Claire stood over the corpse of Talos. Claire turned to face the Governors whilst the others watched from the interior.

"Do you think there is _any_ glory in this, that warrants any praise from you people!?" Claire snapped at them, Sheng stumbling over his words as the other Governors worryingly looked to one another.

"It didn't have to end like this, but he... he..." Claire sobbed as she clenched her fists, her muscles tightening.

Kang, Khana, Sky and Lin ran off of the Magnificent Turtle Duck, seeing Talos' corpse laid down on the ice, the mad inventor letting out a soft sigh as he approached her, outstretching his arms as Claire fell into him, sobbing into his chest as Kang softly hugged her. Khana tried to approach, but Zu placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head as he did.

"I'm so sorry, Claire... I had hoped I could prevent this from happening, but the fight fell to you," Kang softly spoke to her as his hand cradled her head. Claire's tears slowed down as she gently pushed herself back up, looking up to Kang.

"It had to be me... a stranger defeating him... it would've been a disservice," Claire shakily replied as she looked to Talos, trying to hold in her tears.

"Do you want to give him one last goodbye?" Kang asked as Claire nodded, slowly approaching Talos, placing herself before him and forming a boat of ice around him, steadily pulling in the water from the ocean, letting the water partially engulfed the ice boat before pushing the water back out, letting the water carry Talos out to the ocean, and as it sailed into the distance, Claire outstretched her hand, shooting out a fireball from her palm, the fire arch towards the Iceboat, striking Talos' corpse and igniting it as the boat continued sailing away.

"Goodbye, Talos..." Claire muttered as Kang approached her, watching the Iceboat sail away.

"Come on, let's get back to the city," Kang told her as Claire nodded. Everyone made way for Claire and Kang as they walked into the Cockpit, followed by Khana, Sky and Lin.

The others retook their seats inside the Shell as Kang closed it, ejecting the wings and taking off into the skies.

The Magnificent Turtle Duck soared across the calm, chaotic skies, the bleak darkness slowly breaking away as the sun shined through the parting Chaos. Claire noticed the sun shining onto her, looking up from her slumped position. Kang and Claire looked to each other, briefly smiling before Kang returned his focus to the skies, seeing Republic City in the distance.

The Magnificent Turtle Duck gently touched down outside the ruins of the Heart of Chaos, opening up a piece of the shell for everyone to climb out.

Gao and Sheng jumped out from the Magnificent Turtle Duck, looking around at the illuminated ruins as Gao put his hands to his hips, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Once again... this city is a mess," Gao gently spoke as Sheng patted his shoulder.

"Gao, this city is always going to be a mess," Sheng replied with a wry chuckle.

Everyone else leapt out of the Magnificent Turtle Duck, gleefully taking in the rays of the sun whilst Kang, Claire, Khana, Sky and Lin walked towards the ruins of the Heart of Chaos.

"If you don't mind me asking Ava- Claire... could you clean up this mess?" Lin asked as Claire smiled at her.

"I'll do my best," Claire replied as she strode towards the ruins.

"Vaatu, Raava, do you think you can lend a hand?" Claire asked as Vaatu and Raava appeared on her shoulders.

"Certainly, Avatar," Raava replied as the two faded back into her.

Claire closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them, her eyes flushing with a brilliant white light whilst a chaotic black aura surrounded her. She ascended with an Air spout, flexing her arms out to the piercing cliffs of obsidian and earth, pulling them back into the ground, followed by outstretching her arms towards the Obsidian pedestal, slowly pulling it back into the ground and compacting it into the surface, flattening the ground beneath her, finally, she bent the crystals of the ruins and the surrounding water up into the air, flicking the water back into the ocean and gently laying the crystals along the streets leading up to where the Heart of Chaos once stood. Claire slowly hovered back down as she descended from the Avatar State.

"Better?" Claire asked as she turned to Lin.

"It's an improvement, that's for sure," Lin replied with a smile whilst everyone else approached, looking around at the crystals.

"It's a shame about City hall..." Hou sombrely spoke as he looked to where it once stood. But Sokka slowly limped over to him, patting him on the back.

"Yeah... but hey it was due a renovation!" Sokka replied with a nonchalant smirk.

"And with all of us, we'll be able to rebuild it better than ever!" Ho tun told them, swiftly joining the conversation.

"And a statue of all of us in front of it!" Li told them as he put out his fingers like a picture frame.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Li-" Hou replied with a smirk.

Claire looked to the ruins with a heavy gaze as Kang strode up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Even when the ones we love are gone... slain by our hands or not, they still live on," Kang told her with a soft smile as he gestured to his heart.

"In here," Kang added, Claire wearily smiling as Khana and Sky walked up behind them, Khana wrapping her arm around Claire's shoulders whilst Sky placed his hand on Kang's shoulder.

"And you'll always have us around!" Khana happily told her.

"You got that right!" Sky added with a smirk as Claire looked to her friends, a tear streaking from her eye as she smiled at them, the four looking to the blue sunny skies above them.


	14. Legacy of the Past - Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle is over, the Avatar restore but the heavens scarred. But for now, the heroes of this tale take time to relax in the Spirit World.

The Magnificent Turtle Duck flew through the skies, Kang sat in the pilot seat, wearing his navy blue suit and red and white lace-up shoes, smiling to the skies. Claire sat next to him, adorned in the pure red dress with the crimson belt Khana picked out for her and her white hair flowing free.

Khana sat behind her, adorned in her Kyoshi Warrior attire with her amber hair freely flowing whilst Sky sat next to her in a formal Earth Kingdom outfit.

Lin stood next to Kang, adorned in her green and silver dress she wore during her date with Kang, her hand laid atop his shoulder as they flew.

Within the Shell of the Magnificent Turtle Duck, Joseph and Norrak sat together, Norrak in a formal blue water tribe dress and Joseph in a regal white suit.

Team Avatar, all adorned in formal attire of their respective nations, and Suki dressed in traditional Kyoshi Warrior attire sat on one side, whilst the Governors wore their regular uniforms sat on another side next to them.

Claire's Elemental masters adorned themselves in formal attire of their respective nations, sitting across from team avatar whilst Zu, Li, Eamon, Bumi and Ty Lee sat adjacent from them, all dressed in formal looking clothes whilst Ty Lee wore her Kyoshi Warrior outfit. They all conversed amongst themselves, chatter filling the room.

"Now that I think about it... do any of you know where Kang is taking us?" Zuko asked as he looked to everyone, but they all shrugged, as silence loomed.

"Just said 'We're going for a celebratory Tea Party', didn't say where," Zu informed him as everyone quizzically looked to one another

"Where's your friend... Eamon, was it?" Toph curiously asked as Zu shrugged.

"He didn't feel like tagging along. Too busy with harmonic stuff," Zu nonchalantly replied, the chatter continuing. Kang soared up to one of the remnant cracks in the sky, flying through it and into the Spirit World, soaring across the Vibrant skies and spotting Iroh's Tea shop down below, gently descending towards it and landing safely next to it, retracting the wings and opening the shell for everyone to get out.

Team Avatar were the first to jump out, looking around—expect Toph—at their surroundings, feeling an unfamiliarity to it, whilst Sokka lightly gawked.

"We're in the Spirit World!?" Sokka exclaimed whilst Joseph, Norrak, The Governors, The Elemental Masters, Zu, Li, Eamon, Bumi and Ty Lee hopped out, looking at Sokka and their surroundings with bewilderment.

"How can you tell this is the Spirit World?" Katara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I got whisked away here that one time, remember?" Sokka nonchalantly replied, Katara slowly nodding as Kang, Claire, Khana, Sky and Lin hopped out.

Kang closed the shell behind them before striding towards the tea shop, shortly followed by everyone else, and as they all walked together, Iroh stepped out of the Tea Shop, seeing them all approach, heartily smiling at them as Zuko's heart skipped a beat.

"Uncle!" Zuko cried out as he ran towards him, Iroh held out his arms to Zuko as the two embraced each other in a hug.

"It is good to see you again, Nephew!" Iroh told him as the two hugged.

Kang smiled at them as everyone else gathered around. Iroh and Zuko released their embrace as a joyful tear streaked down Zuko's face, Iroh turning to everyone with a wide smile.

"I hope you're all hungry, Xiong and I whipped up enough food to feed an entire nation!" Iroh told them with a hearty smile, gesturing to the large wooden table set out, with Xiong sat by it all. Everyone sat down at the large table, all digging into the cakes and tea provided by Iroh and Xiong.

"Kang... how did you plan all this in secret?" Claire asked as she took a sip of her tea.

"Good old Spirit Projection!" Kang replied with a smile, digging into his cake.

Claire smiled at him as friendly chattered filled the table for hours on end, Zu and Xiong challenging one another to an arm-wrestling match whilst Bumi, Hou, Li and Toph observed whilst everyone else chattered together in small groups, and as they did Claire remembered something she needed to do.

"Hey, Kang. Do you mind if I go for a while? I need to return something," Claire asked as Kang nodded.

"Don't be too long!" Kang told her as the others returned to their celebration. Claire stood up, waltzing over to the Spirit Portal, shortly followed by Khana.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Khana whispered to Kang, to which he gave her a thumbs up with his prosthetic hand.

Khana chased after Claire, quickly catching her up as the two walked to the Spirit Portal.

"So, where are we going?" Khana enthusiastically asked.

"I... well I guess 'we' are going to the tomb of the First Avatar," Claire replied, summoning the Edge of Balance to her hand, feeling the weight of it in her hand as she sombrely gazed upon it.

"...To return this," Claire softly added as she dematerialised it.

Claire and Khana stepped onto the Spirit Portal as the light began engulfing them, Claire held onto Khana's hand, surprising her as the light consumed them, transporting them to the Nexus, Khana's heart racing as she looked out to the void.

"So this is where you and Kang went..." Khana exclaimed as she walked around the tree.

"Yep," Claire nonchalantly replied, looking around to see a tomb within a portal.

"Come on, it's through this way!" Claire told Khana as she grabbed her hand, whisking her Kyoshi Warrior away into the portal, the light engulfing them once more and transporting them to a dark and dreary landscape, dead trees and cobwebs filled the area as a mighty stone tomb stood tall before them.

"For an Avatar Tomb this is quite... different from what I expected," Khana commented on their surroundings, taking in the dead plant life's scent, and the cawing of Spirit Crows.

"Well... it is around fifty-thousand years old," Claire replied as she marched towards the tomb whilst Khana blinked and shook her head in surprise, quickly catching up with Claire.

The two stood before the entrance, the two Bull Spirits springing to life and landing before Claire and Khana. The Kyoshi Warrior quickly withdrawing her daggers, stepping beside Claire, but the Avatar raised a hand to her.

"It's alright," Claire reassured her as the Bull Spirits loomed over them.

"Welcome, Avatar!" The Bull Spirits said in unison, stepping aside for Claire, but as she and Khana stepped through, they blocked Khana's path.

"Only the Avatar may enter," The Bull Spirits told her, Khana lightly scoffing.

"Some things never change," Khana jested towards Claire.

"Sorry," Claire replied with a soft smirk whilst Khana lay against the pillar beside the temple.

"No need to worry," Khana told her as Claire stepped inside the tomb.

Claire slowly made her way into the temple, her footsteps echoing throughout the halls as she waltzed into the room where she pulled the Edge of Balance from, taking a deep breath as she summoned it to her hand.

Claire marched over to the stone, aiming the Edge of Balance towards the gap inside the stone, slowly sliding it in as a faint glow radiated from within, trapping the Sword in the stone once more, and as Claire raised her head, Kaishi's spirit calmly appeared before her, his hands behind his back as he looked down to her.

"Thank you," Kaishi spoke to her as Claire raised a curious eyebrow to him.

"For... what?" Claire asked as she lightly shrugged her arms.

"For restoring the cycle, and bringing balance back to the world," Kaishi told her, his expression turning sombre as he let out a heavy sigh

"We know what the cost was, and I am sorry it ended the way it did," Kaishi added as Claire hung her head.

"You don't need to apologise... I was the one who did it... now I'm the one that has to live with it," Claire replied in a pained tone as a tear streaked from her eye.

"But you will not have to live with it alone. You have your friends, your family, and you have..." Kaishi spoke as he raised his hand, snapping his fingers as an ethereal sky blue endless corridor appeared behind him, rows of Avatars standing behind him, all looking to Claire as her heart skipped a beat.

"Us," Kaishi added, Claire smiled at them as Kaishi smiled back.

"Although this journey is over: Your adventures as Avatar haven't ended just yet, there is always more to do, but we are certain you will do us proud... Avatar Claire," Kaishi proudly told her.

"Thank you!" Claire replied as she bowed to the Avatars.

"Now go, return to your celebrations, I'd say you've earned them," Kaishi told her as him and the Avatars faded away, the ethereal corridor disappearing as they did.

Claire took a deep breath as she turned away from the sanctum, exiting the Tomb, Khana seeing her exit and perking up from the pillar.

"Looked like quite the light show in there," Khana commented as Claire softly chuckled, the two making their way back to the Spirit Portal.

"Not just any light show an _Avatar_ light show," Claire jested with a smile as Khana let out a light sigh.

"I always seem to miss out on a lot of good stuff with you," Khana replied with a smirk, but Claire looked to the skies out of her peripheral vision.

"Eh, not always," Claire told her as a cheeky thought came to her mind.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Khana asked in a sultry tone.

"Like this!" Claire replied as she smooched her cheek, Khana's cheeks flushing red as Claire chuckled and skipped away.

"Get back here!" Khana shouted with a laugh as she chased her.

The two returned to the party, stepping through the Spirit Portals and back to Iroh's tea shop, approaching Kang as he smiled at them.

"All done?" Kang asked as he put his hands to his hips.

"Yeah... why, have you got something up your sleeve?" Claire asked as she raised a curious eyebrow

"Correction! It's in my pouch," Kang replied as he twisted around to everyone else.

"Hey, everyone. I've got a surprise!" Kang told them as he walked over to the table with Claire and Khana in tow, rummaging through his pouch and pulling out a small square-shaped device with a lens and a slim exit point.

"I call this, 'The Capturer of Moments'!" Kang proudly proclaimed as he walked to the centre of the table.

"What does it do?" Iroh asked as he observed the device.

"It captures a moment, and freezes it in time, and displays it on a small piece of paper which comes out of here!" Kang explained as he pointed to the slim exit point before looking over to Lin.

"Lin, would you mind giving me something to prop this up on?" Kang asked as Lin lightly stomped on the ground, kicking up a small pillar in front of Kang.

"Thank you!" Kang replied as he settled the Capturer of Moments down atop it.

"Everyone gather around!" Kang demanded.

Claire sat parallel to the Capturer of Moments, whilst Khana sat to her right, wrapping her arm around her whilst Joseph and Norrak stood behind their daughter.

Sky sat next to Khana whilst Ty Lee stood behind her. Lin stood to Claire's left side, leaving room for Kang whilst Hou stood by her with Toph and Ho Tun next to him.

Shu, Zuko and Iroh stood together next to Ty Lee whilst Katara, Sokka, Suki and Jing stood next to them, Sokka and Suki wrapping their arms around Jing's shoulders whilst Katara placed her hand on Sokka's back.

Bumi, Tenzin, and Kya stood by Ho Tun, Bumi's arms wrapped around both Tenzin and Kya as they all smiled at one another, whilst Gao and Sheng stood next to them in a formal pose.

Zu, Li and Xiong stood behind Ho Tun, Toph, Hou and Lin, Zu lightly crouching to make sure he fitted in the frame whilst Li supported him and Xiong stood by him.

"Alright, let me just set the timer!" Kang told them as they all stood ready.

Kang pressed a small button on top of the Capturer of moments, hearing it tick as he quickly rushed over to the spot Lin left open for him, shimmying in and placing his prosthetic arm around Lin's shoulders whilst placing his hand on Claire's shoulder.

The ticking stopped and the lens quickly closed and opened, a piece of paper sliding out and falling onto the table, slowly revealing the photo to them.

Kang picked it up and smiled, but as he did his eyes widened, seeing Azula's spirit stood in between Zuko and Iroh, the Fire Lord walked over to Kang, seeing Azula's spirit as his eyes too widened, looking to Kang as the two smiled to each other.

After their return from the Spirit World, Kang told Tenzin all he knew about the surviving air-benders, offering to take him and Jinora to Air Mountain in his Speedwagon, and upon arrival, Yorru greeted Jinora, Tenzin, and Kang, looking in awe at Tenzin, gazing upon his Master Air-bender tattoos. Yorru introduced Tenzin and Jinora to the Air Clan, where Tenzin would inform them they were safe to enter the world again, and in the passing years, the Air Clan abandoned the Mountain, retaking their original homes within the Air Temples.

Zuko and Shu returned to the Fire Nation Royal Palace, being granted a warm welcome by Jin and Izumi, The Fire Lord told them about his battle against the False Avatar and the battle between him and Claire, as well as Kang, being a part of their family. Although this surprised them, Izumi wanted to meet him, to which Zuko promised that one day she would.

Sokka, Suki, Katara, Kya and Bumi returned to the South Pole, reassuring their citizens they had successfully assisted in the downfall of the False Avatar, the people of the Southern Tribe hailed them as Heroes, and Sokka tried not to let it go to his head too much.

Toph and Ho Tun returned to the foggy swamp, spending more time there before they continued travelling the four nations together, facing off against bandits and the occasional Sabre-toothed moose lion.

Eamon continued his mission to bring harmony to the Four Nations, his message of Harmony for all spreading amongst the nations, people rallying behind his call, leading him to create an organisation amongst the nations known as Harmony's Shadow, but this unnerved the upper-class citizens of the four nations, and Eamon would often experience nightmares, and every time he looked in the mirror, he could see Amon flashing before his eyes, the Shadow-Bender refusing to slip back into his ruthless ways.

The earth benders and construction workers of the city rebuilt City Hall better than ever, and the Governors Hou, Gao, Sheng and Jing continued to govern Republic City, thankful for the peace Claire and her friends had brought, but chaos would always linger in the shadows of the city, waiting to strike, and give Gao another reason to call the city a mess.

Zu and Li decided to quit their life of crime, petitioning Lin to allow them to be a detective duo, although Lin refused their request several times, after a nudge from Kang, she caved to their requests, allowing Zu and Li to join the police force as detectives, however, they were later removed from their position after being caught raiding the local Bakery.

The chieftain throne of the Northern Water Tribe stood empty for some time until the Northern Tribe petitioned Joseph to take the throne, much to his surprise. But no matter how much Joseph protested to the idea, he eventually caved, taking up the role as Chief with Norrak by his side. And as they laid in bed at night, Joseph would often whisper "We're gonna need another kid," with a hearty chuckle.

Kang and Lin's romance continued, blooming ever more with each passing day, the two saving up enough gold to buy a house together, but even so, Kang still preferred the solitude of his lab, struggling to let it go after all the years he spent tinkering and creating within it. Although Lin didn't mind him being there, she wishes he'd remember to come home now and then.

Claire, Khana and Sky set out into the world, taking the Air Craft Kang had built with them—with the mad inventor's permission of course—The three travelled across the four nations, bringing Order where Chaos ran rampant, and bring Chaos where Order clutched too tightly, as well as occasionally visiting Kang and Lin.

The tale of Avatar Claire and her friends is over for now, but who knows...

maybe I'll write another sometime :^)


	15. Credits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Credits for the Story and Cover art

Written by: Lightning189

Cover art by: Dewfrost


End file.
